The Desert Botanical Garden, established in 1939, spans 140 acres in Phoenix’s Papago Park, housing one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of desert flora. The garden showcases more than 50,000 plants, with a particular emphasis on species from the Sonoran Desert, and maintains five thematic trails that display desert ecology, plant adaptations, desert wildflowers, and human uses of desert plants. The collection includes over 1,100 species of cacti and agaves, making it one of the most extensive collections of these plant groups globally.

Beyond its living collections, the garden functions as a research and conservation center, conducting studies on desert plant biology, maintaining a seed bank, and running programs to protect endangered desert species. It has earned recognition as a Center for Plant Conservation and operates extensive educational programs, including ethnobotanical exhibits highlighting the relationships between native peoples and desert plants. The garden combines botanical science with public education while serving as a leader in desert plant conservation and research.

<a href=”https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:23-04-05_DesertBotanicalGarden-5104.jpg”>mbaylor</a>, <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0″>CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons