Gardens Growing
In an exciting interdepartmental partnership between the Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens and Mackay Water, the area below the Mackay Water Treatment plant on Nebo Road will begin to be transformed, as part of the plant's major upgrade throughout 2009.
Bank stabilisation and new pathways will allow this area to be landscaped and planted and new interpretative signs will explain the importance of water and sustainability to our community and environment. The Garden's collections with be further enhanced, pedestrian and shared-use paths improved and extra seating and shade will also be highlights.
The Monocot Zone houses the Botanic Gardens collections of monocots - grasses, bamboos, palms and related taxa. This zone of the Gardens showcases the importance of monocots for sustainability, their usefulness and beauty. But what are monocots?
Monocotyledons or monocots are one of two major groups of flowering plants (angiosperms), the other being dicotyledons or dicots. Monocots are identified in that most members of this group have one cotyledon, or embryonic leaf, in their seeds. By contrast dicots typically have two cotyledons.
The largest family in this group (and in the flowering plants as a whole) by number of species are the orchids family - Orchidaceae, with about 20,000 species. Grasses have evolved to become highly specialised for wind pollination and represent the next major family - Poaceae. Other economically important monocot families are the palm family - Arecaceae, ginger family - Zingiberaceae and the family Alliaceae, which includes vegetables such as onions and garlic.
Monocots comprise the majority of biomass produced in agriculture. There are between 50,000 and 60,000 species within this group. The economically most important family in this group (and in all plant families) are the grasses. These include all the true grains (rice, wheat, etc.), the pasture grasses and the bamboos - now being used for modern day building materials, even clothing and underwear! Many plants cultivated for their beauty also from the monocot group include lilies, cannas, heliconias and gingers.
This partnership between Mackay Water and the Botanic Gardens will provide a beautiful and educational experience to visitors whilst improving access to the many walkers and cyclists that use the Gardens daily.
Contact: Dale Arvidsson
Phone: (07) 4952 7300
Email: