La Orotava Acclimatisation Gardens

The garden of La Orotava came about as a result of the concern for the acclimatisation of the new species brought from the Americas. It owes its existence to the personal commitment and the collections of the 6th Marquis of Villanueva del Prado, on a commission from the Crown between 1788 and 1832. The height of the garden's splendour came in the mid 19th century, under the gardener Hermann Wildpret. In 1941 it became part of the National Institute of Agricultural Research, and today is a site for important scientific work. It contains over 3,000 species of mainly exotic flora, some of which are highly spectacular, such as Ficus macrophylla f. columnaris, with its long aerial roots.