Exhibition ‘The Scent of Nature – Plant Species of Serbia’

The exhibition titled ‘The Scent of Nature – Plant Species of Serbia’, organized by the Institute for Nature Conservation of Serbia, was opened on Tuesday, 8 April, at the SASA Gallery of Science and Technology.

This is the third instalment in the educational series ‘Protected Natural Resources of Serbia’ related to the eponymous book published by the Institute. Following the exhibition ‘The Voice of Nature’ and ‘A Touch of Nature’ which were organized at the SASA Gallery of Science and Technology in 2023 and 2024, this new exhibition ‘The Scent of Nature’ offers an overview of plant species of Serbia which have the status of protection according to the category of rare, endemic, relic and endangered species.

Serbia’s rich and diverse flora is evident in the fact that, despite covering only 1.9% of Europe’s territory, our country is home to approximately 4,200 to 4,300 taxa of species, subspecies and hybrids. The protection and conservation of this plant life is of national importance. In Serbia, rare and endangered plant species are protected under the Law on Nature Protection, related by-laws, and the Red Book of the Flora of Serbia, which focuses on critically endangered species. According to national legislation, wild plant species with significant ecological, biogeographical, scientific, health, and economic value are categorized as ‘strictly protected’ or ‘protected wild plant species’. Currently, 641 wild species are categorized as strictly protected, while 570 species hold protected status.

The exhibition at the Gallery of Science and Technology features information panels, video and audio material, as well as photo presentations, along with authentic plant samples. Original herbarium specimens from the herbarium collection of the Institute for Nature Conservation of Serbia will also be exhibited, as well as digitized specimens from Josif Pančić’s herbarium collection, which are housed in the Herbarium of the Institute of Botany and the ‘Jevremovac’ Botanical Garden of the Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade.

Furthermore, visitors will have the opportunity to play an interactive game with plant scent recognition, which reveals unusual links between the sense of smell and our emotions and memories.