Orchid collection
The collection of orchids of the botanical garden and arboretum was founded by prof. Ing. J. Dušek and prof. Ing. J. Křístek in 1967. Today, the collection contains 4,000 taxa of tropical orchids, which come maily from Cental and South America, Southeast Asia, Africa (especially Madagascar), Australia and New Guinea.
The orchids are places in four greenhouses at the top of the botanical garden (approx. 800 m2). We have been trying to complete, maintain and expand the collection of botanical orchid species all the time. We are maily interested in genera Paphiopedilum, Dendrobium, Bulbophyllum, Stanhopea, Phalaenopsis. The collection also includes a gene pool of hybrids of commercially insteresting genera Cattleya, Laelia, Brassavola, Cymbidium, Oncidium, etc.
In 1970, we were one of the first in Czechoslovakia to establish a laboratory for in-vitro orchid propagation. This laboratory serves as a genobank and houses about 1,000 taxa in in-vitro culture.
The orchid collection ís used by students and teachers of the university for teaching and research in this field of plant cultivation and propagation. The collection is open to public throughout the year during working hours after paying the entrance fee. During the exhibitions in the botanical garden, the collection is also accessible on non-working days.