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Former name | National Wildflower Research Center (1982-1995) |
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Established | 1982 |
Location | 4801 La Crosse Avenue Austin, Texas 78739 |
Type | Botanical garden |
Collection size | 970+ plant species [1] |
Visitors | 185,783 [1] |
Founder | Lady Bird Johnson & Helen Hayes |
CEO | Patrick Newman |
Owner | University of Texas at Austin |
Public transit access | ![]() |
Nearest parking | Parking lot on-site |
Website | wildflower.org |
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin is the state botanical garden and arboretum of Texas. The center features more than 900 species of native Texas plants in both garden and natural settings and is home to a breadth of educational programs and events. The center is 284 acres and located 10 miles southwest of downtown Austin, Texas just inside the edge of the distinctive Texas Hill Country. [2] It straddles both Edwards Plateau and Texas Blackland Prairies ecosystems.
The center is dedicated to "inspiring the conservation of native plants" and promoting the environmental benefits of native plant landscapes. It is home to the most comprehensive native plant database in the U.S., which features profiles of more than 9,000 North American native plants along with a number of other resources (see Native Plants of North America). The Wildflower Center has 9 acres of cultivated gardens, including the Luci and Ian Family Garden and the Ann and O.J. Weber Pollinator Habitat Garden. Its 16-acre Mollie Steves Zachry Texas Arboretum features collections of tree and shrub species from across the state of Texas. Miles of walking trails, educational exhibits, a gift store, cafe and biannual sales of native plants round out the offerings. In 2013, the syndicated television series, Texas Country Reporter , hosted by Bob Phillips, declared the center the No. 1 site from which to view wildflowers within Texas. [3]
Former first lady Lady Bird Johnson [2] and actress Helen Hayes founded the National Wildflower Research Center in 1982 to protect and preserve North America's native plants and natural landscapes.
The original center was located on a 60-acre site in East Austin. [4] Public demand to view native gardens and learn more about native plants soon overwhelmed the original site, and led the Board of Directors to build a larger campus to accommodate public interest.
The current campus opened in 1995 on a 42-acre site in Southwest Austin on La Crosse Avenue. Five acres of native plant gardens and landscapes, designed by J. Robert Anderson, FASLA (principal), Eleanor McKinney (EMLA) and Darrel Morrison (FASLA), were installed throughout a complex of award-winning buildings designed by Overland Partners to reflect the land and regional architecture of the Texas Hill Country.
The center was officially renamed the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in 1997. [5]
By 2002, in response to rapidly encroaching land development, the center acquired an additional 237 acres of adjacent land through purchase and donation. This expansion of the campus made possible the development of larger scale research on the ecology of the Central Texas region and how best to restore healthy landscapes in the region. It also established education and public outreach as core functions of the center.
The inscription on the Presidential Medal of Freedom award presented to Lady Bird Johnson in 1977 by President Gerald Ford [6] concludes with the words "Her leadership transformed the American landscape and preserved its natural beauty as a national treasure." [7]
The Wildflower Center joined The University of Texas at Austin in 2006 (see below).
With its focus on native plants, research and education, the Wildflower Center has gained national recognition as a leader in plant conservation and environmental sustainability. [8] In partnership with the U.S. Botanic Garden and American Society of Landscape Architects, the center led the Sustainable Sites Initiative, a program that established performance benchmarks for sustainable land design and is now offered through GBCI.
The current mission of the center is "inspiring the conservation of native plants."
On June 20, 2006, the University of Texas System Board of Regents announced a plan to incorporate the Wildflower Center into The University of Texas at Austin. [9] In 2010, a donation of $1.4 million from the San Antonio Area Foundation was designated toward the establishment of a 16-acre arboretum. The Mollie Steves Zachry Texas Arboretum, which was dedicated on April 30, 2011 and opened in the spring of 2012, displays all 53 species of oak trees that are native to Texas. [10] [11] In April 2012, Luci Baines Johnson, daughter of Lady Bird Johnson, and her husband Ian Turpin donated $1 million toward a family garden that will be named in their honor. The 4.5-acre native plant garden features a wading creek, a maze of 3-foot-tall native hedges, and a walk-in grotto. [12] It was opened in May 2014. [13]
Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson was the first lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 as the wife of former president Lyndon B. Johnson. She served as the second lady from 1961 to 1963 when her husband was vice president.
Powell Gardens, Kansas City's botanical garden, is a 970-acre (3.9 km2) botanical garden in Kingsville, Missouri, United States, 30 miles (48 km) east of Kansas City. It features 6,000 varieties of plants, with 225,000 plants in seasonal displays, and is open to the public, for a fee, during daylight hours.
Luci Baines Johnson is an American businesswoman and philanthropist. She is the younger daughter of U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife, former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson.
Stylophorum diphyllum, commonly called the celandine poppy or wood poppy, is an herbaceous plant in the poppy family (Papaveraceae). It is native to North America, where it is found in the eastern United States and Ontario. Its typical natural habitat is moist forests over calcareous rock, particularly in ravines.
Lilium canadense, commonly called the Canada lily, wild yellow-lily, or meadow lily, is a native of eastern North America. Its native range extends from Ontario to Nova Scotia south to Georgia and Alabama. It is most common in New England, the Appalachian Mountains, and the Canadian Maritimes. It is also cultivated as an ornamental in Europe and other places.
Calochortus luteus, the yellow mariposa lily, is a mariposa lily endemic to California.
The Arboretum at Penn State, which contains the H.O. Smith Botanic Gardens, is a new arboretum at Pennsylvania State University adjacent to its University Park campus in State College, Pennsylvania. It is Penn State's second arboretum, joining the Arboretum at Penn State Behrend, which was created in 2003.
Viola pedata, the birdsfoot violet, bird's-foot violet, or mountain pansy, is a violet native to sandy areas in central and eastern North America.
Senna hebecarpa, with the common names American senna and wild senna, is a species of legume native to eastern North America.
Beargrass Creek State Nature Preserve is a 41-acre (17 ha) nature preserve located in Louisville, Kentucky's Poplar Level neighborhood, in roughly the central portion of the city. It is named for Beargrass Creek, the south fork of which passes along the northern side of the preserve. The preserve is adjacent to Louisville's Joe Creason Park and the Louisville Nature Center. It is owned by the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves and the LNC assists with management.
Croton alabamensis, known as Alabama croton, is a rare species of flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, that is endemic to Texas and Alabama in the Southeastern United States.
Ribes aureum, known by the common names golden currant, clove currant, pruterberry and buffalo currant, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Ribes native to North America.
Ranunculus abortivus is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. Its common names include littleleaf buttercup, small-flower crowfoot, small-flowered buttercup, and kidneyleaf buttercup. It is widespread across much of North America, found in all ten Canadian provinces as well as Yukon and the Northwest Territories, and most of the United States, except Hawaii, Oregon, California, and parts of the Southwest.
Sisyrinchium micranthum, commonly known as annual blue-eyed grass,blue pigroot, fairy stars, and striped rush-leaf, is a wildflower. It is a grass-like species in the iris family, Iridaceae. It is native to Mexico, Central America, and South America and widely naturalized elsewhere. The flowers are between 10 and 20 mm in diameter. Often the flowers are white with blue to purple centers, but may bloom in other colors such as yellow, pink, or violet. These are followed by rounded 3 to 8 mm brown capsules that enclose the dark brown seeds.
Eutrochium dubium, also called coastal plain joe pye weed, is a North American flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the eastern United States and Canada, primarily the Atlantic coastal plain from Georgia to Nova Scotia.
Ageratina jucunda, called the Hammock snakeroot, is a North American species of plants in the family Asteraceae. It is found only in the southeastern United States, in the states of Georgia and Florida. It is a perennial herb growing up to 3 ft (0.91 m) tall.
Krigia occidentalis, known as western dwarfdandelion, is a North American species of plants in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the southern Great Plains and the Ozark Mountains of the south-central United States.
Rubus trivialis, commonly known as southern dewberry, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family (Rosaceae) native to the southern United States and northern Mexico. It is distinguished from northern dewberry by its hispid stems. It is a perennial herb and blooms March to April.
Carya pallida, sand hickory, or pale hickory is a species of hickory native to the southeastern United States. It is a perennial, dicotyledonous plant which prefers rocky or sandy habitats. The sand hickory can reach heights of up to 30m, but its typical height is between 9-24m. In an open area, Carya crowns are usually towering and slim. The sand hickory nut is edible and consumed by various organisms.
Verbena halei, commonly known as Texas vervain, Texas verbena, or slender verbena, is a flowering plant in the vervain family, Verbenaceae. It is native to much of the southern United States and Mexico. Scattered populations have been found along the east coast, and its range stretches south to Florida, west to Arizona, and throughout most of Mexico. It is a perennial shrub and grows in thickets and woodland borders. Flowers bloom March to June. It has been introduced to Australia, in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia.