{{Short description|Botanical garden in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2018}} {{Infobox park | name = Missouri Botanical Garden | type = Botanical garden | location = St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | coordinates = {{coord|38|36|45|N|90|15|35|W|type:landmark_region:US-MO|display=inline,title}} | module = {{Infobox NRHP | name = Missouri Botanical Garden | nrhp_type = nhld | nocat = yes | image = | caption = | location = | locmapin = | embed = yes | coordinates = | area = | built = | architect = Multiple | architecture = Late Victorian | designated_nrhp_type = December 8, 1976<ref name="nhlsum"/> | added = November 19, 1971 | refnum = 71001065<ref name="nris"/> | website = }} | opened = 1859 | website = {{URL|www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/}} }}The '''Missouri Botanical Garden''' is a botanical garden located at 4344 Shaw Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri. It is also known informally as '''Shaw's Garden''' for founder and philanthropist Henry Shaw. Its herbarium, with more than 7.5 million specimens,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/plant-science/plant-science/resources/herbarium|title=Herbarium|website=Missouri Botanical Garden|access-date=September 19, 2025}}</ref> is the second largest in North America, behind that of the New York Botanical Garden. Its Peter H. Raven Library contains 85% coverage of all literature ever published on systematic botany and plant taxonomy.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Missouri Botanical Garden |title=Library Collection Management Policy |year=2006 |pages=1–2}}</ref> The ''Index Herbariorum'' code assigned to the herbarium is '''MO'''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sweetgum.nybg.org/science/ih/herbarium-details/?irn=125279|title=Index Herbariorum|publisher=Steere Herbarium, New York Botanical Garden|access-date=27 November 2021}}</ref> and it is used when citing housed specimens.
==History== 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY -- NOMINATION FORM |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/baaa0b85-870e-4761-b926-687362d73790/ |website=National Park Service |page=3}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1959-10-10 |title=Shaw's Seeking Cover for Palms |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/st-louis-globe-democrat-shaws-seeking/183011000/ |access-date=2025-10-15 |work=St. Louis Globe-Democrat |pages=5}}</ref> The garden was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 19, 1971 and was designated a National Historic Landmark on December 8, 1976.<ref name="nhlsum" />[[Image:Climatron, Missouri Botanical Gardens.jpg|thumb|The Climatron greenhouse at the Missouri Botanical Garden simulates the climate of a rainforest for conservational and educational purposes.]]In 2024, the Tower Grove House was added to the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. Records show that in 1855, four people enslaved by Shaw escaped the house and crossed the Mississippi River with help from Mary Meachum. A woman, Esther, and her three children were captured immediately after crossing. Shaw placed a bounty on Jim Kennerly, who had escaped.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Neman |first=Daniel |date=2024-02-15 |title=Three St. Louis-area sites added to Underground Railroad program |url=https://www.stltoday.com/life-entertainment/local/three-st-louis-area-sites-added-to-underground-railroad-program/article_a1ce3f64-c5f4-11ee-af52-c7124fa001d6.html |access-date=2024-02-15 |website=STLtoday.com |language=en}}</ref>
== Peter H. Raven Library == [[File:Flowers and statuary, Shaw's Garden, St. Louis, by Ingersoll, T. W. (Truman Ward), 1862-1922.png|thumb|Stereoscopic view of statuary and flowers at Shaw's Garden by Truman Ward Ingersoll]] 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.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Missouri Botanical Garden |date=2025 |title=Collections |url=https://www.mobot.org/mobot/molib/collections.shtml |access-date=March 17, 2025 |website=Missouri Botanical Garden}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" |+ !Collection !Period !Donors !Size !Ref. |- |Sturtevant Pre-Linnaean |1474 – 1753 |Edward Lewis Sturtevant |1,000 | rowspan="5" |<ref name=":1" /> |- |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 |} thumb|The Kresko Victorian Garden at the Missouri Botanical Garden, a highly manicured garden. ==Cultural festivals== 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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.stlccd.org/ |title=ฝาก 20 รับ 200 ถอนไม่อั้น |access-date=July 13, 2022 |archive-date=May 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509183120/https://stlccd.org/ |url-status=usurped }}</ref> During this time, there are showcases of the culture's botanics as well as cultural arts, crafts, music and food. The Japanese Festival features sumo wrestling, taiko drumming, koma-mawashi top spinning, and kimono fashion shows. The garden is known for its bonsai growing, which can be seen all year round but is highlighted during the multiple Asian festivals.[[Image:Missouri Botanical Garden.jpg|thumb|Tower Grove House seen here behind a hedge maze]]
Other popular events at the garden include the Whitaker Music Festival free concert series on Wednesday nights in the summer, the annual Garden Glow light show during the holiday season, and Fest-of-Ale, a beer festival held in October.
==Gardens== {| class="wikitable" |+ !Name !Opened !Notes !Ref. |- |Tower Grove House |1849 |Designed by George I. Barnett in the Italianate style | rowspan="11" |<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gardens & Conservatories |url=https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/our-garden/gardens-conservatories |access-date=2025-10-15 |website=www.missouribotanicalgarden.org}}</ref> |- |''Victory of Science over Ignorance'' |1859 |Marble statue by Carlo Nicoli, a copy of the original |- |Linnean House |1882 |Originally Shaw's orangery, in the late 1930s converted to house mostly camellias |- |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 {{convert|4|acre|ha|adj=on}} central lake, designed by Koichi Kawana; the largest Japanese Garden in North America |- |Grigg Nanjing Friendship Chinese Garden |1995 |Designed by architect Yong Pan; features (gifts from sister city Nanjing) a moon gate, lotus gate, pavilion, and Chinese scholar's rocks from Lake Tai |- |Blanke Boxwood Garden |1996 |Walled ''parterre'' with a fine boxwood collection |- |Strassenfest German Garden |2000 |Flora native to Germany and Central Europe and a bust of botanist and Henry Shaw's scientific advisor George Engelmann |- |Biblical garden | |Date palm, pomegranate, fig and olive trees, caper, mint, citron and other plants mentioned in the Bible |}
== Additional projects ==
=== Butterfly House === {{main|Butterfly House, Missouri Botanical Garden}}
Missouri Botanical Garden also operates the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House in Chesterfield. The Butterfly House includes an {{convert|8000|ft2|m2|adj=on}} indoor butterfly conservatory as well as an outdoor butterfly garden.
=== EarthWays Center === 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/sustainability-conservation/conservation-in-action/at-the-earthways-center.aspx |title=Conservation in Action: the EarthWays Center |publisher=Missouribotanicalgarden.org |access-date=April 23, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130426114047/http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/sustainability-conservation/conservation-in-action/at-the-earthways-center.aspx |archive-date=April 26, 2013 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
=== Shaw Nature Reserve === {{Main|Shaw Nature Reserve}}
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 {{convert|2400|acre|km2|adj=on}} reserve is located in Gray Summit, Missouri, {{convert|35|mi|km}} away from the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shawnature.org/about/SNRhistory.aspx |title=Shaw Nature Reserve |publisher=Shawnature.org |access-date=April 23, 2013}}</ref>
=== The Plant List === The Plant List is an Internet encyclopedia project to compile a comprehensive list of botanical nomenclature, created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and the Missouri Botanical Garden.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.discovery.com/earth/plant-database-library-101229.html |title=Discovery News: World's Largest Plants Database Assembled |publisher=News.discovery.com |date=December 29, 2010 |access-date=April 23, 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713063754/http://news.discovery.com/earth/plant-database-library-101229.html |archive-date=July 13, 2012 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/cp/science/i81521.html CBC: US, British scientists draw up comprehensive list of world's known land plants]{{dead link|date=April 2013}}</ref>
=== Living Earth Collaborative === In September 2017 the Missouri Botanical Garden teamed up with the St. Louis Zoo and Washington University in St. Louis in a conservation effort known as the Living Earth Collaborative.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/washington-u-st-louis-zoo-and-missouri-botanical-garden-team/article_9b6f9466-928b-5ea3-ae7c-b2ddbc93f528.html|title=Washington U., St. Louis Zoo and Missouri Botanical Garden team up to tackle conservation|last=Jost|first=Ashley|website=stltoday.com|date=September 6, 2017 |language=en|access-date=2019-08-02}} {{verify source |date=September 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted (Special:Diff/909075228) by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite at Special:Permalink/909073735 cite #4 – please verify the cite's accuracy and remove this {verify source} template. User:GreenC bot/Job 18}}</ref> The collaborative, run by Washington University scientist Jonathan 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://livingearthcollaborative.wustl.edu/about-us/mission/|title=Our Mission|date=2017-09-01|website=Living Earth Collaborative|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-02}} {{verify source |date=September 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted (Special:Diff/909075228) by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite at Special:Permalink/909073735 cite #5 – please verify the cite's accuracy and remove this {verify source} template. User:GreenC bot/Job 18}}</ref>
==Gallery== <gallery> Image:Missouri Botanical Garden - Plan, drawn 1974-1977.jpg|Site plan, as of 1974–1977 File:Missouri Botanical Garden - Seiwa-en.JPG|View of Seiwa-en, the largest Japanese garden in North America File:Eight Bridges Missouri Botanical Gardens.jpg|Eight Bridges (''yatsu-hashi'') design in the Seiwa-en File:Henry Shaw Mausoleum Missouri Botanical Garden 2023 with Chuihuly glass.jpg|Henry Shaw's mausoleum at the Missouri Botanical Garden, with a glass art piece by Dale Chihuly in front of it as of 2023 File:Gladney Rose Garden at the Missouri Botanical Garden.jpg|Gladney Rose Garden in 2023 File:Swift Family Garden at the Missouri Botanical Garden.jpg|Swift Family Garden in 2023. The Linnean House is at the right. File:Fountain at Missouri Botanical Garden.jpg|Fountain in the garden File:George Washington Carver Statue at the Missouri Botanical Garden.jpg|Statue of George Washington Carver File:Children's area, Missouri Botanical Garden.jpg|Part of the children's area File:Children's water play area, Missouri Botanical Garden.jpg|Part of the children's water-play area File:Prairie Garden at the Missouri Botanical Garden.jpg|The Missouri Botanical Garden's Prairie Garden in 2023. It includes stone paths and metal animal silhouettes. File:English Woodland Garden at the Missouri Botanical Garden.jpg|English Woodland Garden in 2023 </gallery>
==Henry Shaw Medal== 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: * 1893 J. Dorner & Son * 1897 Luther Armstrong * 1899 Henry Clinkaberry * 1904 Three medals given to World’s Fair participants * 1907 W. A. Manda * 1935 Jeremiah Coleman * 1978 Roberto Incer Barquero * 1979 Julian Steyermark * 1980 Anne L. Lehmann * 1981 B. A. Krukoff * 1982 Paul Kohl and S. Dillon Ripley * 1983 Robert Hyland * 1984 Robert Brookings Smith * 1985 Marlin and Carol Perkins * 1986 William L. Brown * 1987 Koichi Kawana * 1988 Ghillean Tolmie Prance * 1989 Joseph H. Bascom, John H. Biggs, David M. Gates, Henry Hitchcock, Robert Brookings Smith, Tom K. Smith, Jr., C. C. Johnson Spink, Frits W. Went, Harry E. Wuertenbaecher, Jr., and Frans Stafleu * 1990 William D. Ruckelshaus * 1991 José Sarukhán Kermez * 1992 Compton James Tucker * 1993 Robert E. Kresko, Armen L. Takhtajan, O. Sage Wightman III, and Edward O. Wilson * 1994 Joseph and Nesta Ewan * 1995 Marlina Curry, E. Desmond, and Mary Ann Lee * 1996 Peter H. Raven and John K. Wallace, Jr. * 1997 William McKibben * 1998 John Browne, William H. T. Bush, Sydney M. Shoenberg, Jr., and M. S. Swaminathan * 1999 Liz Claiborne, Art Ortenberg, and Margaret B. Grigg * 2000 Rachel Lambert Mellon and David W. Kemper * 2001 Calestous Juma * 2002 William Conway and Lucianna Gladney Ross * 2003 Dr. William H. Danforth and Stephen F. Brauer * 2004 Her Grace the Duchess of Devonshire and Jack E. Thomas, Jr. * 2005 National Geographic Society * 2006 Jack Dangermond, Geoffrey L. Rausch, and Scott C. Schnuck * 2007 Jack Jennings and Evelyn E. Newman * 2008 Thomas Lovejoy * 2009 Michael A. Dirr and Nicholas L. Reding * 2010 The Honorable Christopher S. Bond * 2011 Her Royal Highness Princess Basma bint Ali * 2012 Arnold W. Donald * 2013 David Bramwell * 2014 W. Stephen Maritz * 2017 Lelia J. Farr * 2020 Viscount Phillippe de Spoelberch * 2022 David M. Hollo * 2023 Stephen Blackmore * 2024 Peter Wyse Jackson * 2025 Rhett Ayers Butler and Michael K. Stern
== Publications ==
* ''Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden'' * ''[https://novon.mobot.org/index.php/novon Novon: A Journal for Botanical Nomenclature]''
==See also== {{Portal|Gardens}} * List of botanical gardens and arboretums in the United States * Peter F. Stevens, a biologist working in the Missouri Botanical Garden * List of National Historic Landmarks in Missouri * National Register of Historic Places listings in St. Louis south and west of downtown
==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name="nhlsum">{{cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1187&ResourceType=District |title=Missouri Botanical Garden |access-date=June 28, 2008 |work=National Historic Landmark summary listing |publisher=National Park Service |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090301042046/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1187&ResourceType=District |archive-date=March 1, 2009 }}</ref> <ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2007a}}</ref> }}
==External links== {{Wikidata property|P6034}} {{Commons category|Missouri Botanical Garden}} {{Wikispecies|MO}} *{{official website}} *{{YouTube|u=mobotvideo}} *[http://www.mobot.org/hort/gardens/CLhistarchit.shtml Climatron history and architecture] *[https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/our-garden/gardens-conservatories/international-gardens/japanese-garden.aspx The Japanese Garden] *[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/wonder/structure/climatron.html Building big: Databank: Climatron (pbs.org)] *[http://www.towergrovepark.org/ Tower Grove Park] *[http://www.botanicus.org/About.aspx Botanicus, Digital library]
{{NHLs in MO}} {{National Register of Historic Places in St. Louis}} {{St. Louis mci}} {{Arboretums and botanical gardens in Missouri}}
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Category:Missouri Botanical Garden Category:Botanical gardens in Missouri Category:Herbaria in the United States Category:Culture of St. Louis Category:1859 establishments in Missouri Category:National Historic Landmarks in Missouri Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Category:Buildings and structures in St. Louis Botanical Garden Category:Geography of St. Louis Category:Botanical research institutes Category:National Register of Historic Places in St. Louis Category:Chinese gardens Category:Woodland gardens