The Juliet Rice Wichman Botanical Research Center (BRC) at NTBG’s national headquarters on Kaua’i was completed in 2008 and was the first LEED® Gold Certified building on Kaua’i. The 20,000 sq. ft. facility is a climate-controlled, hurricane resistant building that houses NTBG’s seed bank and laboratory, herbarium, library collections, ample workspace and access to collections for staff, students, and other visiting researchers.

NTBG acquired the Loy McCandless Marks Botanical Library in 1998 and constructed a special rare book room in the Botanical Research Center to house this superb collection of rare botanical illustrated books. Loy Marks collected, with the consultation of such Hawaii botanists as Joseph Rock and Horace Clay, numerous titles with an emphasis on tropical and subtropical botany and horticulture. The library is especially strong in 18th and 19th century botanical literature, particularly floras and florilegia. Early Renaissance herbals are another major component of the collection, with works of authors such as Otto Brunfels and Leonhard Fuchs representing impressive first steps from medieval superstition to modern botany.

This behind-the-scenes tour led by Senior Research Botanist Dr. David Lorence will give you look a close up look at this unique collection.

This tour is approximately 2 hours.

Gift certificate expires 09/30/2022