San Francisco Botanical Garden

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United States of America - California - San Francisco

Institution Code: CAS

BGCI Member: Yes

San Francisco Botanical Garden: view of McBean wildfowl pond and Ancient Plant Garden.  San Francisco's unusual mild foggy Mediterranean climate enables the gardens to grow many plants that will not grow anywhere else in North America.
San Francisco Botanical Garden: view of McBean wildfowl pond and Ancient Plant Garden. San Francisco's unusual mild foggy Mediterranean climate enables the gardens to grow many plants that will not grow anywhere else in North America.

About the San Francisco Botanical Garden

San Francisco Botanical Garden (SFBG) is located within Golden Gate Park. The Garden is comprised of 55 acres of both landscaped gardens and open spaces with over 7,700 taxa.

The Bay Area's mild temperatures, wet winters and dry summers, coupled with San Francisco's coastal fog, provide a range of climatic conditions that exist in few other botanical gardens. These unique conditions provide an environment for many plant communities from around the world.

San Francisco Botanical Garden’s high conservation collections include magnolias, Andean, Mesoamerican and Southeast Asian Cloud Forests and high elevation palm species. Specialty gardens include the California Native Garden and Redwood Grove; Succulent Garden; Garden of Fragrance; Rhododendron Garden; Ancient Plant Garden; Moon Viewing Garden; Camellia Garden; Children’s Garden; and other gardens highlighting collections from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Chile and South America, the Mediterranean Region, and East Asia.

SFBG is operated as a partnership of the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department and the non-profit San Francisco Botanical Garden Society.

Main Address:
San Francisco Botanical Garden
1199 Ninth Ave
San Francisco
California 94122 United States of America

Telephone: (415) 661-1316
Fax: (415) 661-3539
URL: www.sfbotanicalgarden.org
Primary Email:

Staff Details

  • Director's Name: Stephanie Linder, Executive Director
    Curator's Name: Ryan Guillou, Curator
    Plant Records Officer's Name: Victoria Stewart, Plant Records Manager
  • Total Staff:
    Horticultural Staff Number: 9
    Educational Staff Number: 6
    Research Staff Number:
    Administration Staff Number: 9

About the Garden

  • Institution Type: Botanic Garden
  • Status
  • Status: Private: Yes
    Status: State: Yes
    Status: Educational: Yes
    Status: Municipal: Yes
    Status: Satellite: No
    Status: Trust: No
  • Date founded: 1937
  • Physical Data
  • Natural Vegetation Area: Yes
    Natural vegetation area: Size: 3 Hectares
  • Landscaped Area: Yes
    Landscaped Area: Size: 19 Hectares
  • Total Area: 22 Hectares
    Latitude: 37.7670580
    Longitude: -122.4670730
    Annual Rainfall: 580 mm
    Altitude: 76.00 Metres
  • Locality: Information
  • Locality: Garden Name: Strybing Arboretum
  • Local Address: 1199 9th Avenue San Francisco, CA 94122
  • Locality: City: San Francisco
  • Locality: State: California

Features and Facilities

  • Herbarium: No
    Arboretum: Yes
    Arboretum Size: 22
  • Micropropagation/ Tissue Culture Facilities: No
    Seed Bank: No
    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: 400000
    Number of Volunteers: 900

Plant Collections

  • Accession Number: 12176
    Cultivation Taxa Num: 7774
  • Invasive Species Monitoring: Yes
    Plant Collection Policy: Yes

Conservation Programmes

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

Research Programmes

  • Biotechnology: No
    Plant Breeding: No
    Conservation - Biology: No
    Conservation - Genetics: No
    Data Management Systems and Information Technology: No
    Ecology: No
    Ecosystem Conservation: No
    Education: No
    Ethnobotany: No
    Exploration: No
    Floristics: No
    Horticulture: No
    Invasive Species Biology and Control: No
    Molecular Genetics: No
    Pollination Biology: No
    Restoration Ecology: No
    Seed/Spore Biology: No
    Systematics and Taxonomy: No
    Sustainability: No
    Pharmacology: No
    Agriculture: No
    Land Restoration: No
    Urban Environments: No

Education Programmes

  • Visitor/Education Centre: No
    Education Signs in Garden: Yes
    Public Lectures/Talks: No
    Education Booklets/Leaflets: No
    Guided Tours: Yes
    Permanent Public Displays: Yes
    Special Exhibitions: No
    Courses for School Children: No
    Courses for University/College Students: No
    Courses for General Public: No
    Education Programme: Yes