Botswana Botanic Garden

The National Botanical Garden is a 7-hectare (17-acre) park located alongside the Notwane River 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south-east of the city centre of Gaborone. It first opened on 2 November 2007 with the purpose of protecting Botswana’s heritage. The park is managed under the Natural History Division of the Botswana National Museum, and is the first botanical garden in Botswana, housing indigenous plants from all over the country. The garden is composed of six sections corresponding to six different ecological regions in Botswana.

The six regions and common plants found in that region are:

– Chobe – Moporota (Sausage Tree) and Mukusi (Pod Mahogany)
– Okavango and Salt Pans – Tsaro (Wild Date Palm) and Mokolwane (Ilala Palm)
– Mophane Woodland – Mophane and Monepenepe (Long-tail Cassia)
– North-Eastern Kalahari – Mokgwapha (Mountain Aloe) and Mosunyana (Umbrella Thorn)
– Mashatu – Motha (Nyala Tree) and More-o-mosetlha (Fever Tree)
– South Western Kalahari – Hoodia and Grasses

In addition to displaying indigenous plants, the park is in charge of maintaining botanical monuments around the country such as the morula tree in Gaborone under which the first meeting of the Botswana Democratic Party was held.