University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley

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United States of America - California - Berkeley

Institution Code: UC

BGCI Member: Yes

About the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley

The mission of the University of California Botanical Garden is to develop and maintain a diverse living collection of plants to support teaching and worldwide research in plant biology, further the conservation of plant diversity, and promote public understanding and appreciation of plants and the natural environment.

The Garden's plant collection of over 10,000 taxa features plants of documented wild origin from nearly every continent, with an emphasis on plants from Mediterranean climates (California, Mediterranean Basin, Australia, South Africa, and Chile). The arrangement of the outdoor collections is primarily geographic by continent of origin or by region including Asia, Australasia, California, Deserts of the Americas, Eastern North America, Mediterranean, Mexico/Central America, South America, and Southern Africa. The Garden holds one of the largest and most diverse collections in the United States.

California native plants (over 2,750 accesssions) occupy approximately one-third of the Garden's area and are grouped by plant communities. These include over a quarter of the state's native species (according to The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California) and 201 taxa on the California Native Plant Society's list of rare and endangered species.

Main Address:
University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley
200 Centennial Drive #5045
Berkeley
California 94720-5045 United States of America

Telephone: (510) 643-2755
Fax: (510) 642-3012
URL: http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu
Primary Email: garden@berkeley.edu

Staff Details

  • Director's Name: Andrew Doran, Director of Collections
    Curator's Name: Holly Forbes, Curator
    Plant Records Officer's Name: Holly Forbes
  • Total Staff:
    Horticultural Staff Number: 15
    Educational Staff Number: 3
    Research Staff Number: 1
    Administration Staff Number: 12

About the Garden

  • Institution Type: Botanic Garden
  • Status
  • Status: State: Yes
    Status: Educational: Yes
  • Date founded: 1890
  • Physical Data
  • Natural Vegetation Area: No
  • Landscaped Area: Yes
    Landscaped Area: Size: 14 Hectares
  • Total Area: 14 Hectares
    Latitude: 37.8750040
    Longitude: -122.2383690
    Annual Rainfall: 600 mm
    Altitude: 210.00 Metres

Features and Facilities

  • Herbarium: No
    Arboretum: No
  • Micropropagation/ Tissue Culture Facilities: No
    Seed Bank: Yes
    Published Plant Catalogue: Yes
    Computer Plant Record System: Yes
  • Open to public: Yes
    Friends society: Yes
    Retail Outlet: Shop: Yes
    Retail Outlet: Plant Sales: Yes
    Disabled access: Yes
  • Number of Visitors: 80000
    Number of Volunteers: 340

Plant Collections

  • Accession Number: 17000
    Cultivation Taxa Num: 10800
  • Special Collections:Amaryllidaceae, Cactaceae, Cupressaceae, Ericaceae, Fagaceae, Poaceae, Liliaceae, Orchidaceae, Pinaceae, Rhamnaceae, Zamiaceae, Arctostaphylos, Ceanothus, Magnolia, Pinus, Quercus, native Californian bulbs, succulents, orchids, rhododendrons, Pteridophyta, medicinal plants
  • Invasive Species Monitoring: Yes
    Invasive Species Policy: Yes
    Plant Collection Policy: Yes

Conservation Programmes

  • Conservation Programme: Yes
    Ex Situ Conservation Programme: Yes
    Reintroduction Programme: Yes

Research Programmes

  • Conservation - Biology: Yes
    Conservation - Genetics: Yes
    Horticulture: Yes
    Molecular Genetics: Yes
    Systematics and Taxonomy: Yes

Education Programmes

  • Visitor/Education Centre: Yes
    Education Signs in Garden: Yes
    Public Lectures/Talks: Yes
    Education Booklets/Leaflets: Yes
    Guided Tours: Yes
    Permanent Public Displays: Yes
    Special Exhibitions: Yes
    Courses for University/College Students: Yes
    Courses for General Public: Yes
    Education Programme: Yes