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UCR Botanic Gardens

A Nature Oasis and Living Museum in California's Inland Empire

Students touring the Botanic Gardens

The UCR Botanic Gardens

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ABOUT US

The UCR Botanic Gardens is a 40-acre living plant museum with more than 3,500 plant species and thousands of specimens from around the world, focusing on plants from Mediterranean climate (dry summer) and arid lands, similar to California and the desert southwestern US. As a part of the UC Riverside campus, the Botanic Gardens is utilized for teaching, research, and demonstration purposes, as well as for enjoyment and appreciation of nature. The variable elevation and topography of the Gardens and Riverside's subtropical climate create numerous microclimates that allow for the notable diversity of plantings as well as an abundance of wildlife.

 

VISION

The UCR Botanic Gardens are UCR's living museum, curated to inspire and facilitate education, research, and interpretation of the natural world.

MISSION

The mission of the UCRBG is to promote campus and community engagement in nature, gardens, and conservation. We aim to create a sense of place at UCR where visitors can experience, learn about, and help protect our nature oasis. 


Themed and Horticultural Collections
 

Butterfly Garden
This garden displays flowering shrubs, including many natives, that grow well in the Riverside area and support the butterfly lifecycle and other pollinators

Herb Garden 
This formal garden is planted with aromatic, culinary, dye and medicinal herbs from around the world

Iris Garden 
This seasonal garden features more than 150 named bearded iris cultivars in a rainbow of colors

Lilac Lane
This semi-shaded section in Chancellor’s Canyon is planted with true lilacs, selected for their ability to flower in Riverside’s mild-winter Mediterranean climate

Native American Plants Garden 
This new garden displays plants important to indigenous people of the inland Southern California region 

Rose Gardens 
Three rose gardens display over 300 old and new selections, including a cross-section of species roses, heritage varieties, miniatures, floribundas, grandifloras and hybrid teas

Subtropical Fruit Orchard
This diverse orchard features citrus, guavas, sapotes, avocados, macadamias, and many other subtropical fruit trees (not open to the public at this time)

 


Geographical Collections
 

Australia
Recently renovated, this section features plants native to Australia’s Mediterranean climate zone, including Eucalyptus, Melaleuca, Grevillea and others

Baja California 
Plants from this arid southwest region include rare and bizarre species such as boojum tree (Fouquieria columnaris)

California Chaparral
This section includes manzanita (Arctostaphylos), California lilac (Ceanothus), and other native sclerophyllous shrubs representative of California’s chaparral plant community

Coastal Sage Scrub
This shrub community, characterized by Encelia californica (California brittlebush) and Artemisia californica (California sagebrush), is widespread in coastal California and native to the hills where the UCR Botanic Gardens is located

Latin America
Displays plants from Mexico, Central and South America, including floss-silk tree (Chorisia speciosa) and pink trumpet tree (Handroanthus impetiginosa) 

Mediterranean
Features plants from the Mediterranean region including cork oak (Quercus suber), pines, cedars, and rosemary 

North American Desert
This section contains an extensive collection of southwestern US desert plants with emphasis on those native to the Mojave and Colorado Deserts

North Coast Redwood Forest
The lower section of Chancellor’s Canyon supports the endemic California coast redwood and associated species

Oak Woodland
This section contains several species of oaks from California and other Mediterranean regions of the world

Sierra Foothills
Representing mid-elevations of California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains, this section contains trees and shrubs such as foothill pine (Pinus sabiniana), California buckeye (Aesculus californica), and fremontia (Fremontodendron)

South Africa 
This desert collection contains spectacular displays of aloes, iceplant, and South African bulbs and wildflowers in season

Temperate Deciduous Forest 
The lower canyon bottoms contain a selection of trees and shrubs from temperate China and the eastern US including a deciduous dawn redwood tree (Metasequoia glyptostroboides)
 


Other Features
 

Alder Canyon
Cool and shady, Alder Canyon features California native riparian trees

Dome 
This lath structure houses a special collection of cycads and other subtropical plants requiring semi-shaded growing conditions

Greenhouse 
Recently renovated, this structure houses a special collection of cool-temperature and shade-requiring plants (open for guided tours only)

Trails
The Gardens perimeter road is approximately 1.5 miles around, and more than four miles of trails traverse the 40-acre Gardens

Turtle Pond
This secluded, shaded pond partway up Alder Canyon features turtles and fish, along with irises, papyrus (Cyperus papyrus), and Montezuma cypress (Taxodium mucronatum) growing around the edges
 

 

About one-third of the Gardens' 40 acres remain unplanted and consists of native plant communities including coastal sage scrub and annual grassland. Common native plants on the site include brittlebush (Encelia farinosa), California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum), California sagebrush (Artemisia californica) and deerweed (Lotus scoparius).

 

 

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