Malabar Botanical Garden and Institute for Plant Sciences [KSCSTE MBGIPS]

Kozhikode, Kerala, India

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The Malabar Botanical Garden and Institute for Plant Sciences (KSCSTE-MBGIPS) is a 45-acre botanical garden and research institute located in Olavanna village, about 8 km from Kozhikode city in Kerala, India, and approximately 25 km from Kozhikode International Airport.

Established as an institution of the Government of Kerala under the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE), it is dedicated to conserving and researching aquatic plant diversity, lower group plants like mosses and ferns, and endangered plants of the former Malabar Region, while also promoting plant science education.

The garden is unique in India due to its vast wetland area, making it ideal for ex situ conservation of aquatic and wetland plants, and it houses over 10,000 plant varieties including 403 documented aquatic species, with the country’s first aquatic biopark project inaugurated there in 2015 to create the largest collection of aquatic plants in India.

The garden features eight specialized greenhouses for primitive plants (mosses and ferns), shade-loving plants, orchids, medicinal plants, aquatic plants, and other categories, along with rare and exotic flora, making it a reflection of Kerala’s overall biodiversity. The public can visit from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm on government working days, and the institute also conducts capacity building, training, and outreach programs while working toward sustainable utilization of aquatic plant resources through research and development.