Plant Collections

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UBC Botanical Garden curates a collection of ~30,000 plants from ~8000 accessions representing 5000 taxa from temperate regions around the world. Temperate forest plants of British Columbia, eastern North America and Asia are curated in woodland gardens and a classic alpine garden displays the diverse flora of high-altitude regions of the world.

UBC Botanical Garden collections include those of the Main Garden, the Botanical Garden Nursery and Nitobe Memorial Garden. Collections policy at UBC Botanical Garden follows a number of important criteria. These include providing plants and plant materials for academic study and research, based primarily on germplasm of documented wild origin, and using plants to create attractive public displays.

Search UBC Botanical Garden’s living collections online     Garden Explorer

Gardens and Areas of UBC Botanical Garden

  • Arbour Garden
  • Contemporary Garden
  • David C. Lam Asian Garden
  • E.H. Lohbrunner Alpine Garden
  • Entrance Plaza
  • Food Garden
  • Herbaceous Borders
  • Nitobe Memorial Garden
  • North American Gardens
    • BC Rainforest Garden
    • Carolinian Forest Garden
    • Garry Oak Meadow & Woodland Garden
    • Pacific Slope Garden
  • Physic Garden
  • Roseline Sturdy Amphitheatre

 Significant Collections

  • Wild-collected species of:
    • Acer(maples) from Europe, Asia and North America, including Acer pentaphyllum
    • montane flora of the world
    • Clematis from Asia
    • climbing plants
    • Cornus (dogwoods) from Asia and North America
    • ferns & fern allies
    • Lardizabalaceae (lardizabala family) from Asia
    • Magnolia from Asia and North America
    • Rhododendron from Europe, Asia and North America
    • Sorbus (mountain ash) from Asia and North America
    • Styracaceae (storax family) from Asia and eastern North America
    • vascular plants from rainforest, Garry oak and alpine ecosystems of British Columbia
  • Cultivated taxa of:

Using the Collections

Search UBC Botanical Garden’s living collections online.

If you would like to access our collections for research purposes, please contact our Accessions Technician Eric LaFountaine at garden.records@ubc.ca or 604.822.0969.

History of the Plant Collections

UBC Botanical Garden was established in 1916 with 900 species. By the late 1930s, the Botanical Garden included significant collections of British Columbia natives, willows, alpines, aquatics and medicinal plants, as well as native and exotic trees in the campus arboretum. Unfortunately, much of the old collections were lost or integrated with the campus plantings. The only remnants visible today are some very fine trees near the centre of campus.

Plant Collection Network(PCN) Collections

UBC Botanical Garden curates PCN Collections of Acer (maples) and Magnolia (magnolias). The Plant Collections Network (PCN), formerly the North American Plant Collections Consortium (NAPCC), is a network of botanical gardens and arboreta working to coordinate a continent-wide approach to plant germplasm preservation and to promote high standards of plant collections management. PCN Collections may serve as reference collections for plant identification and cultivar registration. Collection holders make germplasm available for taxonomic studies, evaluation, breeding and other research.