established in the United States of America in 1859. During this section of botanic garden history the only real scientific activities undertaken by gardens was the labelling of collections correctly and exchanging seeds on a worldwide basis.
The Glasshouse at Missouri Botanic Garden
In the last 30 years botanic gardens have seen a revival as scientific institutions due to the emergence of the conservation movement. They are now seen as very important due to their existing collections and the scientific knowledge they posses in the propagation of plant species. Conservation is now seen in many gardens as theirrasion d’etre. The beginning of this was seen in the 1970’s when IUCN began encouraging ex situ conservation of threatened plants.