Flowers and Ornamentals of Rwanda: From Symbols to Cash Crops

• 作 者: JeanLeonardSeburanga[1]ZhangQixiang[2]
• 机 构: School of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, P.R.China
• 出 处: 2010年全国观赏园艺学术年会
• 发表日期: 2010年期

　　Early Rwandan communities generally had access to an abundance of forest resources and could naturally enjoy the beauty of landscapes and wild flowering plants among which some were given a symbolic dimension.However, they were slow to take up sedentary ornamental planting.Before the colonial period, unaware of the outdoor flower cultivation techniques, Rwandan families could keep neither pot flowers nor house plants.Similarly, in terms of cash cropping, export-oriented cut flower production was absent until early 21st century.Recently, with the goal of stimulating increased economic growth, Rwanda sought to promote a range of capital intensive and labor intensive non-traditional export crops, including ornamentals and cut flowers.In this paper, we attempted to compile a list of plant species and cultivars subject to or having the potential of ornamental use, from the foundation of Rwanda as a nation until today and the near future.