The beginning of the summer season of the Tallinn Botanic Garden is dedicated to lichens. The season opens on May 1

The Tallinn Botanic Garden traditionally opens the summer season on May 1, and this time the opening day and the whole of May are dedicated to lichens: there will be an exhibition of lichens and guided tours dedicated to them.

As part of the special program “Green Capital of Europe 2023”, an exhibition of lichens will be open in the Palm House of the Tallinn Botanic Garden throughout May. There you can admire the photographs of Andres Saag, a lichen researcher from the University of Tartu, and examine specimens of the corresponding lichens collected in nature.

On the opening day of the season, 1 May, at 12:00 pm, Liis Marmor-Ohtla, a lichen researcher at the Tallinn Botanic Garden, will lead a guided tour, during which you will learn about the mysterious life of lichens. In the open territory of the Botanic Garden, a permanent exhibition of lichens, mosses and tree fungi is available all year round, but lichens also grow in other places in the botanic garden, especially on trees. The acquaintance with lichens continues in nature, where it becomes clear what clues they can provide us about the environment, if only one learns to read these clues correctly.

Register for the tour here.
The tour will take place in the Estonian language.

The photo exhibition “Lichens: in the photographs of Andres Saag and in Estonian nature”, taking place in May and presented at the Palm House, will be complemented by introductory texts and specimens of the lichens depicted in the photographs and collected from nature.

Andres Saag is an associate professor at the Institute of Ecology and Natural Sciences at the University of Tartu, a lichenologist. He has been photographing lichens since the beginning of this century. Most of the photographs were taken to illustrate guides introducing lichens. A small selection from more than 1,300 photographs is featured in the Palm House exhibition.

Since May, the Tallinn Botanic Garden is open every day from 10:00 to 19:00, the Palm House is open from 11:00 to 19:00.