The Botanical Garden of Kroussia (BBKK), next to the village of Pontokerasia in the prefecture of Kilkis, was inaugurated in 2001 and is a “trust” of the Greek flora, where varieties of plants from every corner of Greece are preserved and saved.

Today, it risks being led to wither, if the institutional framework that governs its operation is not changed, it was pointed out at today’s press conference of the Union of Researchers ETHIAGE, on the topic “Conservation and utilization of national genetic resources: Role, possibilities and infrastructures of ELGO – DIMITRA” .

The agronomist/horticulturist and PhD candidate in landscape architecture spoke about the need to immediately institutionalize the Balkan Botanical Garden of Kroussia “so that it becomes autonomous as an administrative unit and can be included in programs and financed, thus removing the risk of being led to wither” at the Technical University of Milan, Nikos Thymakis, who is a partner of BBKK’s manager, Dr. Elenis Maloupa.

“This whole project, which was launched 23 years ago, i.e. in 2001, when BBKK became a member of the International Union of Botanical Gardens (BGCI), is up in the air and this is dangerous and unimaginable”, emphasized Mr. Thymakis . Analyzing what could be done immediately and at no cost, so that the BBKK could increase its budget, which currently relies on a self-financing program of 15,000 euros per year, he explained that “the BBKK could become an autonomous legal entity, or ELGO-Dimitra to use it as a service, or to pass it as a responsibility to the Ministry of Environment from the Ministry of Rural Development and Food and thus be used with a different approach”.

Describing BBKK as the national trust of Greek flora, Mr. Thymakis added that it can preserve “all the Greek plants that can be used either for medicinal purposes, or for medical purposes or even for use in urban greenery” and noted that climate change makes it “imperative to preserve and save our plant material”.

In the Balkan Botanical Garden of Kroussia, plants are managed in their place (In situ) and ex situ, which, as Mr. Thymakis explained, means that “we bring plants from other parts of Greece, preserve them and save them in collections at BBKK” .

The Botanical Balkan Garden of Kroussia at a glance

BBKK was inaugurated in 2001, when it became a member of the International Union of Botanical Gardens (BGCI), it develops on an area of ​​310 acres in the prefecture of Kilkis, 70 km from the city of Thessaloniki, while it belongs to the municipality of Kilkis and is located near T.K. Pontokerasias.

The landscaped sections that the visitor can browse through at BBKK include: the seasonal biodiversity trail, the alpine and subalpine plant growth area, the grassland biodiversity and the adventure trail. In addition, it includes an arboretum with shrubs and trees of Greece, lakes and small waterfalls with aquatic vegetation, a wide variety of aromatic, medicinal and floral plants and the Garden of the Senses with building facilities that host photographic exhibitions on the subject of plants every year.

In total, more than six million living plant organisms, belonging to over 100,000 different plant species, grow in the 2,300 Botanical Gardens worldwide.

Of the 11,650 plant species and subspecies that comprise Europe’s flora, more than 6,600 are found in Greece, the only Balkan country participating in the European Natura 2000 Network.

In the Balkan Peninsula there are more than 8,000 different species and subspecies of plants, while a large part of them are plants of limited distribution and do not exist in any other region of the planet.

To date, the BBKK and the Laboratory for the Protection and Utilization of Native and Floricultural Species (EPA&AAE) maintain: 185 families of native species listed in the Vascularflora of Greece, 3,800 preserved codes (species and subspecies), 2,407 codes of 1,265 recognized species are kept in a seed bank, 909 codes from 544 species and subspecies are kept in living collection (11,700) and in invitro conditions, 20 codes from 16 species, including important Aromatic Medicinal Plants and Orchids.

In the context of the supply of AFF through the BBKK nursery, more than 10,000 individuals of at least 50 species are produced annually, for field crops or for floricultural-commercial demonstrative use. Each year, dried medicinal plants and small forest fruits (more than 600 kg) are available for processing by companies producing perfumes or cosmetology products through contractual partnerships.