Memorial University Botanical Garden
Institution Code: NFLD
BGCI Member: Yes
About the Memorial University Botanical Garden
MUN Botanical Garden is an informal botanical garden located in a boreal forest setting. We have about 1800 taxa in our collection. We have several focus gardens including rock gardens, crevice garden, limestone scree dedicated to native arctic-alpines, cottage garden, vegetable garden, heritage garden, pollinator garden, perennial border, alpine house, shade garden, peat garden, rhododendron garden, Asian garden and a plant trial garden where we display new varieties of plants being produced by Ball Floraplant and All America Selcetions.
Our main plant collections are Rhododendrons and other Ericaceae, alpines and native Newfoundland arctic-alpines. We are currently bulking up our collection of dwarf willows and Sorbus with the aim of becoming a National Collection within North America for these genera.
MUN Botanical Garden conservation efforts include the maintenance of ex situ population of three rare, endemic Newfoundland plants: Salix jejuna, Braya longii and Braya fernaldii. These plants are listed by COSEWIC. We have maintained an ex situ population of these plants for 10 years now (as of 2017). We have also collected braya seed in the past and sent them to the Canadian seed bank in Saskatchewan. Willow seed have short viability so we have no choice but to maintain living material. We have willow and braya from most of the known Newfoundland populations so our gene pool is as diverse as possible.
In 2012 we added four additional rare to endangered plants in Newfoundland to our ex situ program. These species are not rare worldwide, but are listed as provincially rare by the Newfoundland and Labrador Endangered Species Act. These include Hedysarum boreale subsp. mackenzii, Erysimum inconspicuum var. coarcticum, Symphyotrichum boreale and Braya humilis. As additional plants are listed by the Newfoundland and Labrador Endangered Species Act they will be added to our ex situ program.
We are also the local hub for the Newfoundland and Labrador Invasive Alien Species (terrestrial) Council.
Main Address:
Memorial University Botanical Garden
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John‘s
Newfoundland A1C 5S7 Canada
Telephone: (709) 864-8590
Fax: (709) 864-8596
URL: www.mun.ca/botgarden/
Primary Email: garden@mun.ca