Search

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Botany banner image
Department of

Botany

Botany Icon
Our mission is to discover the diversity of plant life in marine and terrestrial environments, to describe this diversity, to interpret the evolutionary origin of this diversity, and to explain the processes responsible for this diversity. In addition, we aim to understand how humans are affected by and have altered plant diversity on the planet. Our plant collections total 5 million specimens, making this collection among the ten largest in the world.

Further Your Research

The plant collections of the Department of Botany are among the most important worldwide. This vast and intensely managed collection of over 5 million specimens represents a premier national and international resource.

Botany Banner

Research and Programs