The National Tropical Botanical Garden was established by Congress to foster and encourage basic and applied research on tropical plants and their uses to society; to cultivate tropical plants to prevent their extinction and to share the information gained by our science and conservation programs with the public and the scientific community. NTBG's gardens are both a living laboratory and educational facilities to share the importance of the preservation of tropical plants and their benefit to mankind and the planet.

NTBG's has 5 key programs: Science and Conservation, Education, Living Collections, the Breadfruit Institute, and its Public Garden program. For more information, please visit ntbg. org

NTBG has over 2000 acres of gardens and preserves located in Hawaii and Florida. NTBG's gardens encompass varied ecosystems and environmental conditions, which permit the cultivation and preservation of a broad range of tropical plants. These gardens are located in the only tropical climate zones in the United States. While others can grow tropical plants in greenhouses “under glass," NTBG's nearly 2,000 acres of gardens and preserves afford a natural open-air environment in which these species flourish. These gardens are safe havens for these imperiled plants. They are living laboratories for scientists who strive to better understand the evolution, structure, relationships, and qualities of these species. They are classrooms where students of all ages can learn about environmental stewardship and horticultural practices, and discover that science can be fun.

We are measuring our progress by the number of critically endangered, Red-listed species we grow and cultivate; and the number of students and the public that visit our gardens and attend our education programs. We also are decreasing the number of invasive exotic species in our Hawaiian gardens.

We are always making progress but could do so much more. In 2015 and 2016, NTBG advanced the Hawai'i Strategy for Plant Conservation by collecting seed, seed banking, completing germination & dormancy studies and ex-situ cultivation of Hawaiian endangered plant species. We assessed and reviewed 88 Kauai plant taxa approved for Red Listing (most were endangered or critically endangered). We led a field expedition to Samoa collecting over 1000 plant species to NTBG's collection for use by scientists from around the US. We published the Flora of the Cook Islands and are very close to completing the Flora of Samoa and the Flora of the Marquesas. We maintained our Living Collections, welcomed over 120,000 visitors, volunteers, students and scientists. We also hosted the IUCN World Conservation Congress.