UBC Botanical Garden, at the University of British Columbia

University of British Columbia

The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...

, was established in 1916 under the directorship of John Davidson

John Davidson (botanist)

John Davidson was a notable Scottish-Canadian botanist. Born in Aberdeen, he worked at the University of Aberdeen before being appointed the first Provincial Botanist of British Columbia...

, British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

's first provincial botanist. It is the oldest botanical garden

Botanical garden

A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...

 at a university in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

The garden measures approximately 44 hectares (440,000 m² / 110 acres) and includes over 8000 different kinds of plants. Visitors to the garden should expect to spend a minimum of one hour exploring the garden. Gardens include an Asian garden, an alpine garden, a native plants garden, a food garden and a physic (medicinal) garden.

In 2002, the UBC Centre for Plant Research became the research arm of the UBC Botanical Garden. The Centre for Plant Research examines topics such as plant adaptation, genomics

Genomics

Genomics is a discipline in genetics concerning the study of the genomes of organisms. The field includes intensive efforts to determine the entire DNA sequence of organisms and fine-scale genetic mapping efforts. The field also includes studies of intragenomic phenomena such as heterosis,...

 and phytochemistry

Phytochemistry

Phytochemistry is in the strict sense of the word the study of phytochemicals. These are chemicals derived from plants. In a narrower sense the terms are often used to describe the large number of secondary metabolic compounds found in plants. Many of these are known to provide protection against...

. The Botanical Gardens and the Centre for Plant Research are both encompassed by UBC's Faculty of Land and Food Systems.

UBC Botanical Garden also administers the Nitobe Memorial Garden

Nitobe Memorial Garden

The Nitobe Memorial Garden is a 2½ acre traditional Japanese garden located at the University of British Columbia, just outside the city limits of Vancouver, Canada...

, a traditional Japanese garden located on campus.

External links

• UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research homepage
• website of the garden's journal, Davidsonia
  Davidsonia (journal)
  Davidsonia is a journal of botanical garden science published by the University of British Columbia Botanical Garden. It specializes in the botanical natural history of the pacific north west and horticultural and plant conservation issues...