National Botanic Gardens of Ireland

The purpose of the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland (NBG) is to explore, understand, conserve, and share the importance of plants and our Mission is to ensure that plant diversity is cherished and nurtured in Ireland and throughout the world as our greatest renewable natural resource. The NBG works to achieve its mission through a diverse integrated programme in horticulture, scientific research, education, conservation, sustainable development and display. The living collections number over 30,000 plants across all life forms from bryophytes to trees. The National Herbarium is based within the NBG, and has a collection of over 600,000 dried plant specimens. A primary research objective of the NBG is to have the collections accessible and sustainably utilised for scientific research.  By holding a wide range of named and labelled collections, and keeping an up-to-date catalogue of the collections, we provide a unique reference source for gardeners, horticulturists, botanists and researchers.

Research is a key part of the activities of the National Botanic Gardens, as botanic gardens are underpinned by accurate scientific information. Staff at the Gardens are actively describing new species and increasing our knowledge of Irish and international floras. We conduct collecting expeditions, and investigate growing conditions for our most threatened native species. Research in the herbarium focuses on the history of the collection with specific reference to the Irish flora. The NBG also has an active DNA research laboratory facility, which undertakes projects on plant identification, classification and characterisation.