Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History - Botany Greenhouses
Institution Code:
BGCI Member: No
About the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History - Botany Greenhouses
The Botany Greenhouses of the Smithsonian Institution provide support to National Museum of Natural History - Department of Botany researchers. In essence we are a living collection which complements the preserved collection of the US National Herbarium. While dried (herbarium) specimens show plants at an instant in time, living materials provide opportunities to collect more information. In addition, some characters can be destroyed, degraded or difficult to see in an herbarium specimen.
The collections are primarily tropical in nature, representing research interests of curators in the Department of Botany. Speciens come from both wild and cultivated sources such as botanic gardens and nurseries. We have material sourced from six continents, the largest collection of Zingiberales and Commelinaceae species in the world under glass, a growing collection of Euphorbiaceae, and representatives from many other families.
In the greenhouse, living materials are used for identification, preserved specimens (vouchers), chemical analysis, documentation of processes, illustration, and photography.
Main Address:
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History - Botany Greenhouses
Museum Support Center
4210 Silver Hill Rd
Suitland
Maryland 20746 United States of America
Telephone: 301-238-1060
Fax:
URL: http://botany.si.edu/ghhighlight/GHouseAbout.html
Primary Email: info@si.edu