Plant Collections

Nestled at the top of Strawberry Canyon, the 34-acre UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley contains the largest collection in North America of wild-collected plants from nearly every continent, with an emphasis on species from Mediterranean climates.

Here you’ll see an incredibly biodiverse landscape containing more than 10,000 kinds of plants, including many rare and endangered species. A priceless resource for research, conservation, education, and enjoyment—the Garden offers something new to see and learn with every visit.

Documenting a Living Collection

We extensively document our plants and capture every stage of their life cycles, making them invaluable for research and conservation. As you stroll through the property, notice that each plant is carefully labeled, giving the accession number, family name, scientific name, place of origin and, when appropriate, its common name. We maintain detailed records for each plant that comes into our collections, considerably enhancing its scientific and educational value.

Explore the collections below, then plan your next visit to the Garden! Locate your area of interest on the Garden map.

Geographic Collections

Organized geographically, there are nine regions of naturalistic plantings including one of the largest collections of California native plants in the United States

Asia

Representing the botanical diversity—from conifers to Rhododendrons—found on the world’s largest continent

Australasia

Plants native to New Zealand, subtropical regions of Australia, and the high elevations of the South Pacific islands

California

One of the largest collections of California native plants in the world, including many rare or endangered species
a lot of green leaves with a few orange and yellow flowers

Eastern North America

Representing plants from forests, meadows, and prairies east of the Mississippi

Mediterranean

Flora evocative of the rocky slopes of countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea

Mexico & Central America

A unique plant environment including cloud forest and pine-oak woodlands

Deserts of the Americas

An iconic collection showcasing plants from both North and South America

South America

Beautiful flowers, rare plants, and a small grove of monkey puzzle trees, representing the Mediterranean-climate and temperate areas

Southern Africa

Specimens from the southern part of the African continent, famous for its botanical diversity

Ethnobotanical Collections

Fascinating collections that display plants with cultural and economic importance, utilized for the benefit of humankind

Chinese Medicinal Herb Garden

A unique collection of more than 100 herbs commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine

Crops of the World Garden

A diverse collection of culturally significant plants from around the world

Herb Garden

From the rare to the familiar, flora used for medicines, flavorings, fragrances, liquors and more
Many bright pink flowers with layers of fluffy petals surrounded by pointy green leaves

Garden of Old Roses

A stunning collection of blooms long cultivated by humans for their beauty and fragrance

Virginia Haldan Tropical House

An immersive tropical environment with exotic plants, a living wall, pond and fountain

Taxonomic Collections

Plants that are grouped into collections based on shared characteristics

Arid House

An extensive collection of plants that can survive in extremely harsh environmental conditions

Cycad & Palm Garden

Echoing the environment of a prehistoric forest and offering a link to the earliest of ancient seed plants

Orchid, Fern, and Carnivorous Plant House

Species, largely from tropical habitats, in an ever-rotating display of plants

Waterwise Entry Garden

A collection of subtropical and arid climate plants adapted to low water use and minimal maintenance

Xerophytic Fern Display

Featuring ferns that thrive in very arid conditions

Nationally Recognized Plant Collections

Four of the Garden's plant collections—magnolias, oaks, ferns and cycads— have been nationally recognized for excellence in curatorial and horticultural practices by the North American Plant Collections Network

Cycads

One of the most comprehensive collections in the world

Ferns

An ancient and diverse group of plants that has inhabited Earth for more than 300 million years

Magnolias

Displaying 33 of the world’s roughly 80 species of this magnificent blooming tree

Oaks

The Garden has 62 different kinds of oaks located in the collections