Romania
The seventh international “Fascination of Plants Day” around 18 May 2024 will be launched by plant scientists across the world under the umbrella of the European Plant Science Organisation (EPSO).
The goal of this activity is to get as many people as possible around the world fascinated by plants and enthused about the importance of plant science for agriculture and sustainable production of nutritious food, as well as for horticulture, forestry and the production of plant-based non-food products such as paper, timber, chemicals, energy and pharmaceuticals. The role of plants in environmental conservation is also a key message.
Everybody is welcome to join this initiative!
The Cluj Horticultural Days, conducted within the Faculty of Horticulture and Business in Rural Development, UASVM Cluj-Napoca reached the 3rd edition where the business in the field of horticulture, landscape architecture, tourism and rural development present the products and services to the people and entrepreneurial sectors. Also, during these days a lot of exhibitions and student activities bring the newest products in the field of horticulture, thus creating a connection between students and young people, which makes these days a good chance to show our business opportunities and student life on our campus.
” When there is no more agriculture, the Romanian village will disappear and our national identity will be lost!”
Motivated by this belief, on Friday, 17th May 2024, starting at 10 a.m., we organised the Agricultural Exhibition Fair of the local producers and the students from the “Alexiu Berinde” Technical Agricultural High School, in Seini, Maramureș county. The event is included in the regional project ”Ecological Agriculture – a bridge between the past and the future” (approved in C.A.E.R., no. 1241/01.02.2024). It offered a great opportunity to celebrate the Fascination of Plants Day.
Through our Exhibition Fair, we wanted to present examples of best practices for raising vegetable and flower seedlings in the greenhouses of our school, cultivating vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, cucumbers, zucchinis) and selling them at the local market. All these activities also gave us the chance to promote a healthy and sustainable lifestyle, while presenting the career opportunities offered by a mostly agricultural high school to its future students.
This event paid homage to agriculture, to agricultural education, to the Romanian village and the fundamental values of our nation.
Robin Rose Bannet sais:’’Mother nature’s chest is full of healing herbs of inestimable value’’
Medicinal plants have been used for centuries for their therapeutic effect. The use of natural resources for the purpose of treating some diseases is part of the tradition of many countries even today. These are an inexhaustible source of resources in the pharmaceutical world. At “Vasile Fati” Botanical Garden Jibou, in the medicinal plant collection there are also plants from the spontaneous flora that we presented in the suggestive mini-brochure “First aid kit from nature”. It is intended to be an activity for children, adults and families.
The adaptations of plants, such as cacti, insectivorous plants, or aquatic plants, to various living conditions, have piqued the interest of researchers since ancient times. If you are interested in learning more about these adaptations and how to care for these plants, we invite you to participate in the guided tours organized by the botanical garden on this topic.
These tours will take place on May 18, 2024, at 10:00, 12:00, and 14:00. Participation in the guided tour is based on the entrance ticket to the botanical garden. Each tour will accommodate a maximum of 20 participants and appointments can be made via email at liliana.jarda@ubbcluj.ro
When we look at a landscape we see it as a whole, but in its structure, there are several layers that define it and give a special atmosphere. Every plant looks and feels differently. Following the GPS coordinates set on the campus map by using a smartphone, you will find a pathway that will immerse you into the green landscape of our campus made of mysterious species. Discover colorful flowers, impressive trees, smelling shrubs, prickly leaves, find them, smell them, taste them and read about the benefits and the importance of each one on the page that opens when you reach the plant! Coordinators Lecturer dr. Bodea Sonia and Assoc.Prof.dr. Denisa Jucan
The museum offers a true story of Romanian botany, written by some of the greatest researchers in the field: from Pater Bela – the first director of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences and, at the same time, the first researcher of medicinal plants in Romania to Iuliu Prodan, professor of botany in this discipline and collaborator in the still unsurpassed Flora of Romania. The Scientific Herbarium of USAMV Cluj-Napoca was established in 1904, being linked from its beginnings to the activity of the botany department that operated within the institution. Currently, the USAMV Cluj-Napoca Scientific Herbarium has over 30000 herbarium sheets and specimens registered, this herbarium being listed in the International Index of Scientific Herbaria (Index Herbariorum), under the acronym CLA. The importance of scientific herbaria is also noted in the modern era, through the need to keep material records of botanical specimens included in scientific studies and research, for consultation.
Prof. dr. Rodica Vârban, Assist prof. Ioana Crișan, dr. eng. Liliana Istrate
The botanical garden can be considered as a living book of botany. Visitors are invited to a guided tour where they will learn how to “read” this book to understand the plant world and occasionally even aspects of the animal kingdom. The Agro-Botanical Garden from Cluj has, similar to the chapters, 4 thematic sectors: the Sector of Ornamental Plants, the Sector of Plant Ecology, the Sector of Systematic Classification and the Sector of Biodiversity. They are further subdivided into 36 sub-sectors. In the month of flowers, visitors will observe in the exploration through these thematic sectors and sub-sectors a lot of species in all the splendour of their vitality.
The Agro-Botanical Garden of UASVM Cluj-Napoca is a member of the international organization of botanical gardens (BGCI – Botanic Gardens Conservation International), annually exchanges biological material with several hundred botanical gardens from all over the world, being a member of the IPEN community – The International Plant Exchange Network and publishing the Index Seminum annually.
Assoc. prof. dr. Andrei Stoie (co-ordinator of Agro-Botanical Garden Cluj-Napoca)