Large cities often have a botanical garden, either in the center or in the surrounding area. Madrid was not going to be less. The Alcalá de Henares Botanical Garden is a point of great interest for professionals in this world and also for lovers of plants and nature.
In this article we will explain what is this park and what does it contain. In addition, we will give some practical information related to the prices and hours of the Botanical Garden of Alcalá de Henares, in case someone wants to visit this beautiful place.
What is the Alcalá de Henares Botanical Garden?
Known as the Royal Botanical Garden Juan Carlos I, or the Alcalá de Henares Botanical Garden, this park located on the Campus of the University of Alcalá is an institution that was created in 1990. Today it has a plot of land of more than 20 hectares. It should be noted that is a member of the Ibero-Macaronesian Association of Botanical Gardens and also of the BGCI (International Association of Botanic Gardens for Conservation).
Apart from containing ornamental and scientific collections related to flora, this Botanical Garden It also turns out to be an ideal educational and experimental resource for both teachers and students at the University of Alcalá. Obviously, other universities, schools and people in general can also visit you. It should be noted that the creation of an environment so alive and full of vegetables has favored the confident and spontaneous establishment of various animal populations, such as rabbits, hares, quail, foxes, partridges and country birds.
Regarding the organization of the Alcalá de Henares Botanical Garden, we can find a various groupings:
- World Flora: Taxonomic Garden
- Iberian flora: Iberian arboretum
- Regional flora: Organic farming, wetlands, plant communities and systematic schools
- Special collections: Cicadales, exotic trees, conifers, rose garden, "orchidearium" and cacti
We will discuss them in more detail below.
world flora
In the first place we have the world flora group, which would be the taxonomic garden. There are around 3000 specimens of some 1500 different species from all over the world. In order to have specimens from other places, each year seeds are exchanged with more than 200 gardens distributed throughout the continents. It is one of the main collections of the Alcalá de Henares Botanical Garden. Among the most notable vegetables are the following:
- deciduous magnolias
- gleditsia African
- scented bushes
- Climbers
- Leafy
Iberian flora
Let's continue with the Iberian arboretum, or Iberian flora. In this enclosure we can appreciate how tree vegetation develops in the Iberian Peninsula, since each and every one of the tree species found in this territory is present in this collection. In addition, the most representative bushes of this peninsula have been incorporated. These are some examples of species that we can find in this enclosure:
- Andalusian firs
- Sauces
- Olmos
- Spanish quercíneas (cork oaks, oaks, gall oaks, Kermes oaks and holm oaks)
- Mediterranean scrub (heather, thyme, rockrose, cornicabras, papilionaceae, etc.)
regional flora
The largest enclosure in this park is that of the regional flora. In it you will find different spaces specialized in various topics:
- Systematic school: It gives information about the diversity of the regional flora.
- Natural communities: It shows the plant communities or groupings that end up forming the landscape.
- Ecological garden: Exhibits the various traditional crops of this region.
- Wetland: This is a small lagoon that helps regulate the area's microclimate and serves as a resource for the park's fauna.
Special Collections
Finally, we still have to talk about the special collections area. There are a total of six, and are as follows:
- Cycads: The Cicadales Tunnel contains very primitive conifers. These are authentic living fossils that were very abundant in the time of the dinosaurs, but today they are very scarce. They keep them inside a tunnel, since they are very sensitive to drying out and frost, since they are subtropical plants.
- arboretum of conifers: This collection contains around 500 specimens of 226 different species and subspecies. The sequoias are the oldest trees in this area and were planted in 1990.
- Exotic Arboretum: In this area there are trees that are not native to Spain, but that can be successfully acclimatized. Here is a great diversity, both trees and shrubs. Among the most unique species are, for example, the American oaks and the paper mulberry.
- “Angel Esteban” Rose Garden: Ángel Esteban González is a Spanish Rosalist philanthropist who donated his collection to the Alcalá de Henares Botanical Garden. This includes various tea hybrids, ancient rose bushes, award-winning rose bushes in various international competitions, miniature rose bushes and climbing roses. A total of 285 exclusive varieties can be found here.
- orchidarium (minitropicarium): It is a research greenhouse that was loaned by the Complutense University. Currently cacti, orchids and tropical plants are found in this space.
- Cactus and succulents: Finally, there is the collection of cacti and succulents, one of the largest in Europe. It has more than 3000 plants and has a wide diversity of genera and species.
Alcalá de Henares Botanical Garden: Schedules and prices
If you plan to visit the Alcalá de Henares Botanical Garden, You must take into account the opening hours and the entrance prices. We are going to provide you with all this information, starting with the schedule:
- Monday to Friday: From 10: 00 to 13: 00
- Saturdays, Sundays and holidays: From 10: 00 to 17: 00
Keep in mind that the park It is closed during the month of August and also on the holidays of December 24, 25 and 26 and January 1 and 6. Now let's see the rates that exist:
- General admission: XNUMX pesos 4€
- Reduced ticket: €2 (valid for pensioners, people over 65, student ID, large family, groups of at least 10 people, members of the Bonsai Circle and ACUA, people who are legally unemployed)
- Theme of the month: €6 (€3 for regular members)
- Individual annual pass: 20€
- Annual family subscription: €35 (maximum four companions)
- Annual group subscription: €50 (maximum nine companions)
We can also access the park for free every Friday until 12:00 noon. In addition, minors and disabled people always enter for free. Nor do students and staff assigned to the University of Alcalá and the associated entities CRUSA, ALCALINGUA and FGUA have to pay admission.
I hope you are encouraged to spend a day in this beautiful park. The Alcalá de Henares Botanical Garden is a wonderful and ideal place for all lovers of botany and nature in general.