Susana Magallón PhD., director of the UNAM Institute of Biology (IBUNAM) and Tomas Borsch, PhD., director of the Berlin Botanical Garden (BO), met in the German capital last October to develop the concept of a garden that integrates two of the main ecosystems in Mexico: semi-arid and humid subtropical, with the aim of representing and appreciating the great biodiversity of our country.

The project will be carried out in the German country during the first months of 2023; this will include specimens of Mexican plants donated by the BO, as well as a digital tool that will house the relevant information of each one, with the knowledge provided by IBUNAM. It is expected to be a cultural and recreational space that schools, academics and the general public can visit.

In addition, during his stay in Berlin, Magallón gave the lecture “Integrating paleobotany and comparative phylogenetics in the investigation of the evolution of angiosperms: floral structure, age and diversification” before students and academics of the Free University of Berlin, with the purpose of to enthuse the student body to combine detailed knowledge in classical taxonomy with frontier techniques and methods to investigate the causes and evolution of plant diversity.

Part of the same cooperation, Dr. Helga Ochoterena, an IBUNAM researcher, gave a talk on “Botanical exploration and the relevance of digitizing original individuals” at the Berlin Botanical Garden, where she especially addressed the studies of German naturalists in Mexico, his own experience doing field research, and the need for more work like this.

With the visit of the academics, the enthusiasm that exists on both sides to intensify collaboration with joint projects was highlighted, and the possibility of carrying out a study abroad program in the near future was raised, in which both UNAM students carry out short stays in Berlin to get to know the BO, as students of the Free University of Berlin in Mexico City to get to know the UNAM Botanical Garden.

The meeting was the result of the permanent efforts made by the headquarters of the UNAM Germany, to link the entities of the University with agencies and institutions of various kinds in Germany.