KARACHI: Despite having been facing funding constraints and water shortages for a long time, the botanic garden at Karachi University holds a lot of attraction for nature lovers.

Spread over a hillock, the garden dotted with around 2,000 indigenous and exotic plant species stands like an oasis in a city of concrete and chaos.

“We want to operate it on a bigger level and supply plants on a commercial scale, but there are serious financial handicaps. However, there is no dearth of talent at the university,” said the garden director, Dr Anjum Parveen, who has been looking after the facility since its establishment seven years ago.

“Requests for supply of large numbers of plants are politely turned down [by the relevant authority] as we don’t have the means and staff to multiply and grow plants on a commercial scale,” she said, adding that funds were needed for building bigger greenhouses and nurseries as well as hiring research staff.

The garden is currently functioning as a facility for scientific research, conservation and public education for visitors on plant diversity. Its greenhouses damaged by heavy rain and winds two years ago are being restored these days.

“People have shown a lot of interest in the garden since its opening and the facility is visited by people throughout the year. Trained PhD students act as guide to morning visitors while those coming in the evening are assisted by our gardeners, who are well aware of plant species. Right now, we don’t have any paid guide,” she said.

According to Dr Parveen, the garden’s water problem has been solved with the construction of a water bore. A number of plants, she said, were being propagated at the garden laboratory and nursery with the help of cutting technique and tissue culture. They included indigenous and exotic plants, including orchid varieties, Fuchsias, Dodenia viscosa as well as a wild plant from the Khirthar hills named Tecomella undulata (locally known as Lahura).

“There is cassava having both ornamental and medicinal properties. The plant grows fast and is ready in just 15 days. Recently, we were requested to provide 5,000 plants of this species, but we had to refuse,” she said.

Tecomella undulate’s wood, she pointed out, was fire-resistant, the bark had medicinal value while the tree was decorated with showy flowers. Dodenia viscosa, she said, was a stable plant with no flowers and it could replace dum-dum, commonly used as a hedge.

“The plant is found in Balochistan and it can survive a month without water. You can cut it into different ways to decorate a spot but if you let it grow, it can go up to six to seven metres height,” she said.

Having an area of 35 acres, the garden has 12 sections, comprising a wide, diverse range of plants and trees that included some rare and interesting plants such as Ginkgo biloba (one of the best known examples of a living fossil), Victoria amazonica (named after Queen Victoria is the largest of the Nymphaeaceae family of water lilies), Asparagus dumosus (an endemic plant that the botanic garden plans to introduce as an ornamental species), insectivorous plants, betel nut palm, tree fern, tea plants, walnut, diar, chir and blue pine.

“We intend to hold a seminar at the Gorakh Hill resort in coming weeks to highlight its flora. Besides, we are discussing the idea to establish a Quranic garden here that will feature species mentioned in the Holy Quarn,” Dr Parveen replied when asked about her future plans.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2014