ECRR > Member organisations > Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

When the Garden was founded in 1670 the challenge was to discover new plants for medical purposes, to name and cultivate them, and to train physicians and apothecaries to recognise them. Today there is even more urgent need to continue this work of discovery, communication and education for the purposes of conservation and sustainable use.

Organisation of research.

Staff in the Science Division carry out botanical research in four main areas:

• Tropical Diversity,
• Major Floras,
• Genetics & Conservation,
• Cryptogamic plants and fungi.

RBGE staff work on projects in over 40 countries worldwide. RBGE also has a major commitment to work on Scottish biodiversity and to supporting the delivery of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy.

Research facilities.

All researchers have access to specialised laboratories for electron microscopy, basic and advanced light microscopy, molecular techniques and plant tissue culture.

The Garden occupies four sites in Scotland: Inverleith, Edinburgh; Younger Botanic Garden, Benmore, Argyll; Logan Botanic Garden, Wigtownshire; and Dawyck Botanic Garden, Peebleshire.

Postgraduate training.

There is a major commitment to formal education at post-graduate level through a joint RBGE/University of Edinburgh MSc course in the biodiversity and taxonomy of plants, and through supervision of PhD students.

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