of plants for the enlargement of the national collection was achieved under the leadership of the chief gardener at the kitchen garden of the Berlin City Palace, Desiderius Corbianus. Even if the expression "botanic garden" did not exist at that time, it was, in fact, the first such in Berlin. The existing Pleasure Garden has developed from this original one. In 1679 at Potsdam Street, in the location of the present Kleistpark, a hops garden was laid out. It was used for the electoral brewery and as a fruit and kitchen garden. Carl Ludwig Willdenow made sure that the garden was assigned in 1809 to the Berlin Frederick William University. The garden developed worldwide into a recognised scientific botanic garden. Stimulus to move the garden occurred in 1888. There was a need to expand the plantings and set out an arboretum. Without a relocation, many of the old greenhouses would have needed to be reconstructed. Owing to the unfavourable urban and developmental impacts of the surroundings in the cities Berlin and , including air pollution and drawdown, there was harm to the plants. The financial aspects of a move to the city periphery were of importance, and it was not possible to expand the old kitchen and herbal garden in the city centre. Grounds and plants Layout Adolf Engler designed the grounds of the gardens as a landscaped garden. The largest part of the grounds is covered by the geographical section and the arboretum . The geographical section is situated just west of the main path and surrounds the (Italian garden), which lies just opposite the exhibition green houses. The aim was to present the various continents and habitats as close to their natural surroundings as possible. To accommodate this, the structure and composition of the ground was adapted and of earth were moved. The (carp pond), a pool of moraines that was already on the grounds before the creation of the botanical gardens, was enlarged and extended by a second pond. This facilitates the showcasing of waterside plants. The southern and western part of the gardens are taken up by the arboretum, a comprehensive and methodical collection of native plants. The arboretum borders the ponds. Therefore, native waterside plants are also part of the collection. The northwestern area of the gardens at one time featured a section of plants which were methodically sorted by their affinity. This section was