East Asian Department

The East Asian Department is the richest in plant collections and is the largest in size. 40% of the Garden’s living plant collections are located in this department. A rationale is that climate conditions of East Asia, particularly the Japanese humid subtropics, are very similar to climatic conditions at Batumi.

The department is located on a terraced slope, occupying 6.05 ha. Most of the area is represented by an eastern collection, while a smaller part represents northern and western flora of East Asia.

In 1913, with the support of Batumi Agricultural Community, the Garden established contacts with two famous Japanese firms: “Nursery Company” and “Seitaro Arai”, which allowed for the addition of 314 species of Japanese plants.

Relict tropical flora of the third period is abundantly represented in the department: Ginkgo biloba, Metasequoia glyptostroboides; perennial grasses, Japanese banana, wide-leaved Fatsia papyrifera, Pueraria, Actinidia and others give a tropical appearance to the Garden. Rhododendrons, camellias, magnolias, pines, Corylopsis, Lindera, Juniperus sabina, Rhododendron ponticum, Berberis vulgaris, Sacuras, persimmons, maples, Enkianthus, and Cryptomerias. Here also are Aucuba in abundance, which keeps its red berries throughout the entire winter; bamboo plantations, chocolate tree (Firmiana platanifolia), sweet tree (Hovenia dulcis), soap tree (Sapindus mukorossi), grease tree (Sapium sebiferum), chestnuts, oaks, hortensias, Wisteria, Myrica rubra, Glyptostrobus pensilis, Taiwania cryptomerioides, Liquidambar formosana, Liriodendron chinense, Michelia compressa, Magnolia coco, Styrax obassia, Stewartia pseudo-camellia, Taxus mayrii, Tsuga sinensis, Alniphyllum fortunei, Illicium verum, Bischofia trifoliata, Milletia reticulata, Neolitsea sericea, Sinojackia xylocarpa, Fortunearia sinensis, Uncaria rhynchophylla, Thea sinensis, Cudrania tricuspidata, Paulownia tomentosa, Botrocarium controversum, Pterostyrax hyspida, Zelkova serrata, Larix leptolepis, Pseudolarix amabilis, Cinnamomum camphora, Chamaecyparis pizifera da obtusa, Podocarpus nagi, Castanopsis cuspidata, Buxus japonica, Lagerstroemia indica, Torreya nucifera, Sciadopitys verticillata, Trachycarpus fortunei, Pistacia chinensis, Gleditshia japonica, Melia azedarach, Euscaphys japonica, Jasminum humile, Chaenomeles japonica, Aleurites fordii, Ficus pumila, Zantoxylum schinifolium, Albizia kalkora and Trochodendron aralioides.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), among the endangered and threatened species, 62 are conserved ex situ in the department, consisting of 20 families and 37 genera.

According to data collected in April 2012, the East Asian collection is represented by 92 families, 257 genera. It comprises 710 taxonomic units. The department also contains Japanese style landscape gardens.