National Tropical Botanical Garden

Science & conservation: this program is focused on protecting & conserving tropical plants. Our field botanists survey many areas in hawaii to assess threats to native species & collect seeds & cuttings for propogation, & are either outplanted,preserved in the herbarium or placed in seed storage. Ntbgs seed bank contains more than 18.5 million seeds of more than 943 taxa. The botanical research center is the home for the gardens herbarium, seed bank & a rare book library that is temperature & humidity controlled & holds over 1,200 volumes of books-some that date back to the 1500s. These collections are crucial for our research, publications and educational programs. The gardens breadfruit institute manages the largest & most diverse collection of breadfruit species & varieties in the world, with over 120 varieties conserved in field gene banks. The institute promotes the conservation & use of breadfruit for food security, agricultural sustainability & economic development. Ntbg is also a collaborative partner with fiu in the development of the international center for tropical botany in florida. The center is designed to educate & bring together botanists from around the world to share knowledge.

Education: ntbg believes that education is key for preservation of tropical plants & ecosystems. Tours are offered through its gardens to educate the general public about the need to preserve tropical forests rich with native biodiversity and to protect our ecosystems & resources that we rely on for our own well-being. In 2024, our botanical gardens had 110,379 visitors from around the world. Other educational activities include formal and informal lectures, botanical illustrator courses, internships & workshops for college professors, high school teachers & environmental journalists. Science staff regularly provide articles in scientific publications. The science staff have collaborated on & published several books on tropical flora. The loy mccandless marks botanical library currently holds over 20,000 volumes, 3,000 original botanical artworks & prints, 6,000 photographs & 16,000 color slides. The library comprises one of the finest collections of tropical botanical & horticultural reference collections in the pacific basin. The kampong, in coconut grove, fl is home to the former residence of dr. David fairchild, an american botanist who was responsible for the introduction of more than 200,000 exotic plants & crops in the u.s.