National Tropical Botanical Garden
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The National Tropical Botanical Garden is a not-for-profit non-governmental institution. It was in the early 1960’s when a group of individuals and organizations united behind the need for a tropical botanical garden on U.S. soil. The group approached the U.S. Congress with the intention of having a charter issued for a new institution. In 1964, Public Law 88-449 was enacted which chartered the Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden (which would later be changed to National Tropical Botanical Garden).
The mission of the NTBG is to enrich life through discovery, scientific research, conservation, and education by perpetuating the survival of plants, ecosystems, and cultural knowledge of tropical regions. This mission would be achieved through: a network of diverse gardens and preserves in Hawai`i and Florida, each with significant biological, cultural, and historical resources; conservation, research, and reference collections (living, library, and herbarium) assembled through discovery and collaboration; research in botany, ethnobotany, horticulture, conservation biology, and restoration ecology through programs and institutes; educational courses, publications, lectures, and visitor programs; and facilities and infrastructure necessary to conduct this work.
Headquarters are in Kalāheo, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi (island of Kauai, state of Hawaii)
Garden sites are:
- McBryde Garden - Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi (island of Kauai, state of Hawaii)
- Allerton Garden - Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi (island of Kauai, state of Hawaii)
- Limahuli Garden and Preserve - Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi (island of Kauai, state of Hawaii)
- Kahanu Garden - Maui, Hawaiʻi (island of Maui, state of Hawaii)
Preserves are also an important component of the NTBG. The preserves are seen as a refuge for nature, providing habitat for native and tropical plant species to mature and reproduce in a natural setting without the influence of human activity. They have also provided scientists the necessary means for the reintroduction of critically endangered species that are no longer found in the wild. These preserves act as large laboratories where experiments can be conducted in a natural setting. The results from these types of experiments are important to the future and success of conservation biology. The NTBG currently possesses and manages three preserves: the Ka‘upulehu Preserve, which was acquired in the early 1970s on the island of Hawai‘I; the Awini Preserve, which was acquired in 1975 on the island of Hawai‘I; and the Limahuli Preserve, which was acquired in 1994 on the island of Kaua‘i.
Thousands of species have been gathered from throughout the tropical world, through hundreds of field expeditions by staff and through collaborations with other institutions and researchers. Its living collections include the largest assemblages of native Hawaiian plant species and of breadfruit cultivars in existence. Tours of each of the gardens are available.
