I love Botanic Gardens. The favourite, I recall, is Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne.

But it’s Jardim Botânico, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil that tops one list of the 10 Best Botanical Gardens In The World.

There are around 6,500 species (some endangered) distributed throughout an area of 54 hectares, and there are numerous greenhouses. The garden also houses monuments of historical, artistic and archaeological significance. …

A 750 m line of 134 palms forms the Avenue of Royal Palms leading from the entrance into the gardens. These palms all descended from a single tree, the Palma Mater, long since destroyed by lightning …

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