The
following definition was produced by staff of the Liberty Hyde Bailey
Hortorium of Cornell
University in 1976. It covers in some detail the
many functions and activities generally associated with botanical
gardens.
"A
botanical garden is a controlled and staffed institution for the
maintenance of a living collection of plants under scientific
management for purposes of education and research, together with such
libraries, herbaria, laboratories, and museums as are essential to its
particular undertakings. Each botanical garden naturally develops its
own special fields of interests depending on its personnel, location,
extent, available funds, and the terms of its charter. It may include
greenhouses, test grounds, an herbarium, an arboretum, and other
departments. It maintains a scientific as well as a plant-growing
staff, and publication is one of its major modes of expression."