| Missouri Botanical Garden | |
|---|---|
 Interactive map of Missouri Botanical Garden | |
| Type | Botanical garden |
| Location | St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 38°36′45″N90°15′35″W / 38.61250°N 90.25972°W /38.61250; -90.25972 |
| Opened | 1859 |
| Website | www |
Missouri Botanical Garden | |
| Architect | Multiple |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian |
| NRHP reference No. | 71001065[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | November 19, 1971 |
| Designated NHLD | December 8, 1976[2] |
TheMissouri Botanical Garden is abotanical garden located at 4344 Shaw Boulevard inSt. Louis, Missouri. It is also known informally asShaw's Garden for founder andphilanthropistHenry Shaw. Itsherbarium, with more than 7.5 million specimens,[3] is the second largest in North America, behind that of theNew York Botanical Garden. Its Peter H. Raven Library contains 85% coverage of all literature ever published on systematic botany and plant taxonomy.[4] TheIndex Herbariorum code assigned to the herbarium isMO[5] and it is used when citing housed specimens.
The Missouri Botanical Garden began development by 1850 and was created by Henry Shaw. Shaw, a British immigrant, moved to St. Louis in 1819. The garden was developed on land that previously belonged to Shaw, and began construction in 1855. The garden officially opened in 1859. It had informally been referred to as Shaw's Garden for a number of years since its opening. Shaw later died in 1889 and donated the conservatory to the city.[6]
In 1959, the conservatory began construction on the Climatron. The Climatron is a Geodesic greenhouse that is intended to simulate the climate of a rainforest. The greenhouse replaced the former Palm House, which was demolished to build it. It opened in 1960 as one of the first Geodesic-domed greenhouses.[7] The garden was added to theNational Register of Historic Places on November 19, 1971 and was designated aNational Historic Landmark on December 8, 1976.[2]
In 2024, the Tower Grove House was added to theUnderground Railroad Network to Freedom. Records show that in 1855, four people enslaved by Shaw escaped the house and crossed theMississippi River with help fromMary Meachum. A woman, Esther, and her three children were captured immediately after crossing. Shaw placed a bounty on Jim Kennerly, who had escaped.[8]
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Founded by Henry Shaw with the Missouri Botanical Garden in 1859, the Peter H. Raven Library general collection contains more than 160,300 items of plant taxonomic literature.[9]
| Collection | Period | Donors | Size | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sturtevant Pre-Linnaean | 1474 – 1753 | Edward Lewis Sturtevant | 1,000 | [9] |
| Linnaean | Carl Linnaeus | 900 | ||
| Post-1753 Rare Book | Post-1753 | Charles Darwin,George Engelmann | 3,000 | |
| Folio | 1,000 | |||
| Steere | William C. Steere | 3,000 |
The garden is a place for many annual cultural festivals, such as the Japanese Festival and the Chinese Culture Days by the St. Louis Chinese Culture Days Committee.[10] During this time, there are showcases of the culture's botanics as well as cultural arts, crafts, music and food. The Japanese Festival featuressumo wrestling,taiko drumming,koma-mawashi top spinning, andkimono fashion shows. The garden is known for itsbonsai growing, which can be seen all year round but is highlighted during the multiple Asian festivals.
| Name | Opened | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tower Grove House | 1849 | Designed byGeorge I. Barnett in theItalianate style | [11] |
| Victory of Science over Ignorance | 1859 | Marble statue byCarlo Nicoli, a copy of the original | |
| Linnean House | 1882 | Originally Shaw'sorangery, in the late 1930s converted to house mostlycamellias | |
| Gladney Rose Garden | 1915 | Circular rose garden with arbors | |
| Climatron and Reflecting Pools | 1960 | Designed by architect and engineer Thomas C. Howard; lowland rain forest with approximately 1500 plants | |
| English Woodland Garden | 1976 | Aconite,azaleas,bluebells,dogwoods,hosta,trillium, and others beneath the tree canopy | |
| Seiwa-en Japanese Garden | 1977 | Wet strolling garden with lawns and path set around a 4-acre (1.6 ha) central lake, designed byKoichi Kawana; the largestJapanese Garden in North America | |
| Grigg Nanjing Friendship Chinese Garden | 1995 | Designed by architect Yong Pan; features (gifts from sister cityNanjing) amoon gate,lotus gate, pavilion, andChinese scholar's rocks fromLake Tai | |
| Blanke Boxwood Garden | 1996 | Walledparterre with a fineboxwood collection | |
| Strassenfest German Garden | 2000 | Flora native to Germany and Central Europe and a bust of botanist and Henry Shaw's scientific advisorGeorge Engelmann | |
| Biblical garden | Date palm,pomegranate,fig andolive trees,caper,mint,citron and otherplants mentioned in theBible |
Missouri Botanical Garden also operates theSophia M. Sachs Butterfly House inChesterfield. The Butterfly House includes an 8,000-square-foot (740 m2) indoor butterfly conservatory as well as an outdoor butterfly garden.
The EarthWays Center is a group at the Missouri Botanical Garden that provides resources on and educates the public about green practices, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and other sustainability matters.[12]
The Shaw Nature Reserve was started by the Missouri Botanical Garden in 1925 as a place to store plants away from the pollution of the city. The air in St. Louis later cleared up, and the reserve has continued to be open to the public for enjoyment, research, and education ever since. The 2,400-acre (9.7 km2) reserve is located inGray Summit, Missouri, 35 miles (56 km) away from the city.[13]
The Plant List is anInternet encyclopedia project to compile a comprehensive list ofbotanical nomenclature, created by theRoyal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and the Missouri Botanical Garden.[14] The Plant List has 1,040,426 scientific plant names of species rank, of which 298,900 are accepted species names. In addition, the list has 620 plant families and 16,167 plant genera.[15]
In September 2017 the Missouri Botanical Garden teamed up with theSt. Louis Zoo andWashington University in St. Louis in a conservation effort known as the Living Earth Collaborative.[16] The collaborative, run byWashington University scientistJonathan Losos, seeks to promote further understanding of the ways humans can help to preserve the varied natural environments that allow plants, animals and microbes to survive and thrive.[17]
The Henry Shaw Medal has been awarded since 1893. It honors those who have made a significant contribution to the Missouri Botanical Garden, botanical research, horticulture, conservation, or the museum community.
Recipients:
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| People | |
| Other | |
