University of Washington Botanic Gardens

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United States of America - Washington - Seattle

Institution Code: WTU

BGCI Member: Yes

ArbNet Accredited: Level IV

About the University of Washington Botanic Gardens

More than 320 acres of gardens and woodlands -- including one of the oldest arboretums this side of the Mississippi -- and one of the West Coast's largest horticulture centers and libraries collectively fit under the umbrella "University of Washington Botanic Gardens."

The botanic gardens include the Washington Park Arboretum, Center for Urban Horticulture, Elisabeth C. Miller Library, Otis Hyde Herbarium and Union Bay Natural Area, all of which retain their individual names. The UW owns and manages the plant collections in the Washington Park Arboretum and works cooperatively with the city and the nonprofit Arboretum Foundation there.

The mission of the University of Washington Botanic Gardens is "sustaining managed to natural ecosystems and the human spirit through plant research, display and education." Conservation and research programs currently include the Rare Plant Care and Conservation Program -- a member of the national Center for Plant Conservation -- and restoration ecology where scientists are learning how to rehabilitate degraded ecosystems.

The University of Washington Botanic Gardens is a unit of the UW School of Environmental & Forest Science.

Main Address:
University of Washington Botanic Gardens
3501 NE 41st Street
Mailing: University of Washington, Box 358010
Seattle
Washington 98195-8010 United States of America

Telephone: (206) 543-8616
Fax: (206) 685-2692
URL: www.uwbotanicgardens.org
Primary Email: uwbg@uw.edu

Staff Details

  • Director's Name: Fred C.Hoyt, Interim Director
    Curator's Name: Ray Larson, Curator of Living Collections
    Plant Records Officer's Name: Keith Ferguson, Plant Registrar
  • Total Staff:
    Horticultural Staff Number: 8
    Educational Staff Number: 3
    Research Staff Number:
    Administration Staff Number: 2

About the Garden

  • Institution Type: Botanic Garden
  • Status
  • Status: State: Yes
    Status: Educational: Yes
  • Date founded: 1934
  • Physical Data
  • Natural Vegetation Area: Yes
  • Total Area: 130 Hectares
    Latitude: 47.6580460
    Longitude: -122.2886900
    Annual Rainfall: 952 mm
    Altitude: 5.00 Metres

Features and Facilities

  • Herbarium: Yes
    Herbarium: Number of Specimens: 20000
    Arboretum: Yes
    Arboretum Size: 93
  • Micropropagation/ Tissue Culture Facilities: Yes
    Seed Bank: Yes
    Computer Plant Record System: Yes
  • Open to public: Yes
    Friends society: Yes
    Retail Outlet: Shop: Yes
    Retail Outlet: Plant Sales: Yes
  • Number of Visitors: 320000
    Number of Volunteers: 500

Plant Collections

  • Cultivation Taxa Num: 4310
  • Special Collections:Aceraceae, Caprifoliaceae, Ericaceae, Fagaceae, Hamamelidaceae, Leguminosae, Pinaceae, Rosaceae, Acer (68 spp., 270 taxa), Camellia (12 spp., 232 taxa), Ilex (34 spp., 163 taxa), Magnolia (32 spp., 107 taxa), Pinus (58 spp., 93 taxa), Prunus (55 spp., 113

Conservation Programmes

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

Research Programmes

  • Conservation - Biology: Yes
    Ecology: Yes
    Ecosystem Conservation: Yes
    Education: Yes
    Land Restoration: Yes
    Urban Environments: Yes

Education Programmes