The Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden, Kolkata

The Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden is situated in Shibpur, Howrah near Kolkata. Commonly known as the Calcutta Botanical Garden, it is under Botanical Survey of India (BSI) of Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India.

The gardens were founded in 1787 by Colonel Robert Kyd, an army officer of the British East India Company, primarily for the purpose of identifying new plants of commercial value, such as mahogany, and growing spices for trade.

The best-known landmark of the garden is The Great Banyan, an enormous banyan tree that is reckoned to be the largest tree in the world, at more than 330 metres in circumference.

The garden is host to many unusual trees like the Mad Tree, the Century Palm and Cannon Ball tree. The diverse species of plants attracts a lot of birds and a large variety can be seen in the garden.

The garden exhibits a wide variety of rare plants and a total collection of over 12,000 specimens spread over 109 hectares serve as the lungs for the city and are visited by hundreds of people every day. The area has been declared a No Plastic Zone to keep it green.