United States Botanic Garden
Type	Botanical Garden
Location	Washington DC
Coordinates	38°53′17″N77°00′47″W / 38.888°N 77.013°W /38.888; -77.013
Created	1820; 205 years ago (1820)
Operated by	United States Congress
Public transit access	Federal Center SW station
Website	www.usbg.gov

TheUnited States Botanic Garden (USBG) is abotanical garden on the grounds of theUnited States Capitol inWashington, D.C., near theJames A. Garfield Monument.

The Botanic Garden is supervised by theCongress through theArchitect of the Capitol, who is responsible for maintaining the grounds of the United States Capitol. The USBG is open every day of the year, includingfederal holidays. The garden is the oldest continually-operating botanic garden in the United States.^[1]

The Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences in Washington, DC first suggested the creation of the Botanic Garden in 1816.^[2] In 1820 it was given land by an act of Congress. The land was located west of the Capitol extending from First Street to Third Street between Pennsylvania and Maryland Avenues. The facility ceased to operate in 1837 when the society stopped holding meetings. However it was re-instituted in 1842 when the Wilkes expedition of theSouth Seas brought back a collection of plants.^[3]

In 1838,Charles Wilkes set out on theUnited States Exploring Expedition commissioned by Congress tocircumnavigate the globe and explore the Pacific Ocean. During this trip (the "Wilkes Expedition"), Wilkes collected live and driedspecimens ofplants and was one of the first to usewardian cases to maintain live plants on long voyages. Wilkes returned in 1842 with a massive collection of plants previously unknown in the United States.

The dried specimens comprised the core of what is now theNational Herbarium, anherbarium curated by theSmithsonian Institution'sNational Museum of Natural History. The live specimens andseeds came to be housed in the Old Patent Office greenhouse, and were cared for there until 1850. At that time, a botanic garden was built to house the collection in front of the Capitol, where the Capitolreflecting pool is now located.

AbolitionistPhotius Fisk conducted scientific exploration of minerals and plants. While he was U.S. Navy chaplain on theFrigate Raritan in South America and the Pacific he collected seeds and rare plants for the United States Botanic Garden. Some of the species he gathered were thevanilla plant,dendrobium,cattleya,epidendrum,stanhopea, and several other named and unnamed species. Most of the flowers were from Brazil. He also obtained the rare butterfly flowerOncidium Papilio from Saint Thomas which he carefully guarded.Photius Fisk kept careful notes of his observations of the plants. In February 1853, he immediately traveled to Washington and gave the plants to the superintendent and botanist of the United States Botanic Garden W. D. Breckenridge.^[4][5]

In 1933, the building was moved to its present location, just to the southwest of the Capitol, bordered by Maryland Avenue on the north, First Street on the east,Independence Avenue on the south, and Third Street on the west.

The building was closed forrenovations on September 1, 1997, and reopened to the public on December 11, 2001. At the time of closure for renovation, plants in the collection were either placed in storage at the USBG Production Facility, retired to greenhouses inFlorida, or composted.

The USBG proper consists of three locations: theConservatory,Bartholdi Park, and theProduction Facility.

The Conservatory is aconservatory housed in aLord & Burnhamgreenhouse. It is divided into separate rooms, each simulating a differenthabitat:

• The Garden Court
• Rare and Endangered Plants (rare species,endangered species)
• Plant Exploration
• Orchid House (orchids)
• Medicinal Plants (medicinal plants)
• Desert (desert species)
• Hawaii
• Garden Primeval (primeval)
• Plant Adaptation
• Jungle (jungle species; this is the largest of the rooms, and includes a second-storycatwalk so that the junglecanopy may be observed from both below and above)
• Children's Garden (courtyard; features many thrivingtemperateannuals used to encourage interest in plants)
• Southern Exposure (courtyard), on the south side of the building, is surrounded by glass walls, receiving more warmth. It features many plants from theSoutheast andSouthwest, which would not be able to live in the colderDistrict of Columbia climate if not for themicroclimate)

Except for the Hawaiian house, the galleries, and the south lobby, none of the conservatory hasair conditioning. Each room is closely monitored by computer-operated sensors to maintain the environment best suited to the plants in that room.Humidity,sunlight andtemperature are regulated by means of a misting system, retractable shades and levered windows. All plants are watered daily by hand. Construction was completed on the 3-acre (12,000 m²)National Garden on the Botanic Garden's west border, in October 2006 and the garden includes a regional garden of plants native to theAtlantic Coastal Plain and Piedmont, arose garden, abutterfly garden, and the First Ladies Water Garden, awater garden in memory of theFirst Ladies of the United States.The National Garden construction was funded by the National Fund for the U.S. Botanic Garden which now exists as a 'friends group'.

Bartholdi Park lies just south of the Conservatory, across Independence Avenue. It is named for theBartholdi Fountain in the garden's center designed byFrédéric Auguste Bartholdi. One of the goals of this garden is to provide inspiration and ideas for home gardeners who visit it. It displays a variety of small structured and non-structured gardens, and infuses color, shape, and planting themes. One section of the garden is certified as aNational Wildlife Federation Backyard Wildlife Habitat. The Park also houses the administrative building for the United States Botanic Garden.

The Production Facility insouthwest D.C. is used for growing and storing plants forpropagation, for collection maintenance, or for display in upcoming annual shows.

The USBG participates inCITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), which means that it cares for plants seized byCustoms. It specializes inorchids andsucculents.

There are four plants in the garden that are believed to be directly related to the originalWilkes Expedition.

• The Vessel Fern (Angiopteris evecta) situated in the Jungle, is afern believed to be the directprogeny of the Vessel Fern brought back on Wilkes' ship. Because of the lifespan of Vessel Ferns, it is highly unlikely that the present fern is the original; however it is believed that the present fern is a direct descendant and genetically identical to the original.
• The Ferocious Blue Cycad (Encephalartos horridus) is acycad questionably one of the original Wilkes plants. Due to its size and possible age, some believe this plant to have come back with the expedition in 1842; unfortunately, early records are incomplete and inaccurate, so this is left to speculation.
• The Queen SagosCycas circinalis, which are cycads, live in the Garden Court. The Botanic Garden cares for both a male and a female of thespecies, and both were brought back with the Wilkes Expedition.

• 
  Aerial view of the area, with the gardens located in the bottom right.
• 
  Inside the greenhouse lobby.
• 
  Inside primary greenhouse, showing tropical walkway.
• 
  Primary greenhouse roof.
• 
  One of the gardeners that maintain the plants.
• 
  Orchid Symphony exhibit.
• 
  American robin (Turdus migratorius) at one of the gardens.
• 
  First Ladies Water Garden.
• 
  Syrphus on aasteraceae flower.
• View inside the conservatory highlighting orchids on display. (Video).

Wikimedia Commons has media related toUnited States Botanic Garden.

• Official website

• Botanical gardens in Washington, D.C.
• United States Capitol grounds

• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• All articles with dead external links
• Articles with dead external links from February 2022
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use American English from October 2021
• All Wikipedia articles written in American English
• Use dmy dates from October 2021
• Coordinates on Wikidata
• Commons category link is on Wikidata
• Pages using the Kartographer extension