To celebrate its twentieth anniversary in November 2022, IntelliMagic adopted a tree in the Hortus Botanicus in Leiden.
The Hortus Botanicus Leiden is the oldest botanical garden in Western Europe and dates back to 1590. The garden is located behind the Academy Building of Leiden University, very close to the monumental ‘Latin School’ where IntelliMagic’s headquarters are located. The Hortus Botanicus has a renowned collection of plants and trees, with a notable Asian collection. The collection in the Hortus is used for scientific research and the garden is open all year round for visitors to enjoy the 10 acres of unique trees and plants in the city center of Leiden.
Given the proximity of the Hortus to its offices and the value that IntelliMagic places on science and nature conservation, IntelliMagic has decided to celebrate its twenty-year anniversary with the adoption of a tree: the narrow-leaved ash in the center of the Hortus. This tree is a real eye-catcher.
The narrow-leaved ash, scientific name Fraxinus angustifolia, belongs to the Oleaceae; the olive family that also encompasses the olive, lilac and the jasmine as members. Originally, this type of tree is mainly found in warmer regions, from southern Europe to Iran. The leaves are arranged with slender leaflets in opposite pairs, and the bark of the tree has a coarse and square-cracked structure. The narrow-leaved ash grows to a height of about 15 to 30 meters. The tree adopted by IntelliMagic is a very tall specimen, certainly for the Netherlands, standing at about 30 meters high. It was likely planted in 1817, making the tree 185 years older than IntelliMagic.
With the adoption of this narrow-leaved ash, IntelliMagic contributes to the maintenance of this special tree and more in general to the preservation of the Hortus Botanicus in Leiden.
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