Plant Science and Research
Less apparent to the casual visitor are BBG's diverse programs in scientific research, youth education, and community horticulture.
Scientists at Brooklyn Botanic Garden are undertaking a comprehensive study of the plants of metropolitan New York, called the New York Metropolitan Flora project, or NYMF. The purpose of NYMF is to catalog and describe all vascular plants growing in the region.
The BBG Herbarium houses about 300,000 specimens of preserved plants, particularly plants from the New York metropolitan area. These specimens, some from as early as 1818, create a historical record and aid BBG scientists in tracking species, analyzing the spread of invasive plants, and modeling changes in the metro region's vegetation. There are also holdings from the western United States, the Galapagos Islands, Bolivia, and Mauritius.
BBG scientists are conducting research on the evolution and classification of plants, a field called plant systematics. BBG's three Ph.D. scientists are experts in several plant families, including Scrophulariaceae, Cyperaceae, Juncaceae, and Anacardiaceae and have contributed several treatments to the ongoing Flora of North America project.
Read more about this topic: Brooklyn Botanic Garden
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