Our programs in conservation, science and research have the common goal of ensuring the survival of tropical plants, their ecosystems, and cultural knowledge.
Our programs in conservation, science and research have the common goal of ensuring the survival of tropical plants, their ecosystems, and cultural knowledge. Our preserves and the living collections within our gardens provide safe havens for many imperiled species and living laboratories for scientists to study them. Among NTBG’s collections are the largest assemblage of endemic plants from Hawai’i and the Pacific region, as well as the most comprehensive collection of breadfruit cultivars in the world.
Scientific Research
Our focus is on identifying, documenting, understanding, and conserving the rich diversity of tropical plants and their habitats. Our collections — living, herbarium, and library — provide rich resources to NTBG staff, as well as to researchers and students around the world. Learn more.
Conservation
NTBG conservation initiatives include collecting expeditions throughout Hawai’i and the Pacific region to identify plant species that are at risk of extinction and to collect seeds and plant material for propagation and conservation in the living collections. Other projects focus on ecological restoration of degraded habitats, protecting the endemic species that still exist, and reintroducing species which have not survived on their own. Find out more.
The Breadfruit Institute
The Breadfruit Institute incorporates both the conservation of germplasm, and horticultural and nutritional research. Varieties of breadfruit that no longer exist on their native islands are being preserved in NTBG’s gardens. Methods to mass-produce plants in vitro have been developed making it possible to distribute thousands of trees to tropical countries where hunger is a critical issue. Get more information.
