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The botanical orchard was created in 1872 and it is located in the historical gardens of Portici’s Royal Palace, which is surrounded by a holm oak wood of the superior part of Grussone Park. The Royal Palace hosts since 1935 the faculty of Agriculture of the University of Naples, which substituted the “Istituto Superiore Agrario”. Nowadays, the architectural works, like the boundary walls with the marble busts, are what mainly remains of the original garden’s structure; from “Fontana della Vittoria”, decorated at the base with mermaids and fauns while at the top there is a statue; to the 16 chests which occupy the perimetral part of the garden.
The botanical collections comprehend more than 4,000 specimens and among them there are succulent plants of great importance coming from different desert areas. A majestic specimen of a Gingko biloba with a height of about 30 meters and a Xanthorroea preissii, whose trunk is nearly 190 cm tall and which also blooms sometimes, stand out in the garden. A stone structure includes Primula palinuri, an important endemic specie of Campania, Basilicata and Calabria.
The orchard hosts many exhibitions of the Mediterranean and whereabouts plants, the MED/ART exposition, some stop-overs of MozartBox (a music show dedicated to Mozart) during May.

The collections

Succulent plants greenhouse: more than 600 species divided in numerous families (Cactaceae, Aizoaceae, Didieraceae, Mamillaria, Haworthia, Gymnocalycium, Rhipsalis, Didierea, Alluaudia, and many more).

Conifers: Cycadacee, insectivorous plants and bushes belonging to different areas of the world (Australia, South Africa, California).

Bracken/Filiceto: arboreal ferns and many other species hailing from the whole world; there is also the Woodwardia radicans, a rare relict of the Tertiary mountain-tropical flora.

Palm grove: nowadays, it hosts 25 species of palms and a small collection of Plumeria spp., Jubaea chilensis, Butia capitata and great specimens of Arecastrum romanzoffianum.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)