Lankester Botanical Garden, Research botanical garden in Dulce Nombre, Costa Rica.

Lankester Botanical Garden covers 11 hectares in Dulce Nombre, Cartago, and is run by the University of Costa Rica as a research center. It holds over 3,000 plant species, mainly epiphytes such as orchids and bromeliads, with nearly 15,000 catalogued orchid specimens from about 1,000 species. Paths lead through collections of palms, bamboos, heliconias, cacti and succulents, and a 6-hectare reforested forest left to grow since 1973.

Charles H. Lankester moved from England to Costa Rica in 1910 and began collecting orchids, sending samples to Kew Gardens for identification. In 1924 he bought the Las Cóncavas coffee farm near Cartago, where beside a lagoon he set aside an area called El Silvestre for orchids and tropical plants. He kept only El Silvestre when he sold the rest in 1955; after his death in 1969 his daughter Dorothy inherited it and sold it to the University of Costa Rica in 1973 on condition it remain a botanical garden.

The garden bears the name of Charles H. Lankester, an English orchidologist who moved to Costa Rica in 1910 and sent his specimens to Kew Gardens for identification. His daughter Dorothy sold the property to the University of Costa Rica in 1973 on condition it remain a botanical garden. The Japanese garden, donated by the Japanese government and inaugurated on 28 May 2009, holds a teahouse, stone lanterns and an arched bridge.

The site is accessible on most days and sits in a cooler mountain climate, so layered light clothing is wise. Good footwear matters because paths cross the grounds and soil can be slippery after rain.

A Japanese garden area with traditional elements like a pond, teahouse, and bamboo forest offers contrast to the tropical surroundings. This section shows how different garden traditions come together at this location.