The Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden is a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

located on the southeastern corner of the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, University of Califor ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

(

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

) campus,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. It is named after Mildred Esther Mathias Hassler (1906–1995), a noted American

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

. The director is Victoria Sork.

History

UCLA's botanical garden was started as an academic laboratory shortly after the

Westwood, Los Angeles Westwood is a commercial and residential neighborhood in the northern central portion of the Westside region of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Bordering the campus on the south ...

campus opened in 1929, on seven acres preserved for that purpose near the arroyo on the east side of the campus. It was funded in part by the

California State Relief Administration The California State Relief Administration (SRA), created in 1935, was the successor to the State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA), created in 1933. The agencies were responsible for distributing state and federal funds to improve conditio ...

, created by newly elected Governor

Frank Merriam Frank Finley Merriam (December 22, 1865 – April 25, 1955) was an American Republican politician who served as the 28th governor of California from June 2, 1934 until January 2, 1939. Assuming the governorship at the height of the Great Depress ...

in 1933 to provide jobs through municipal work projects. The garden's first manager, George C. Groenewegen, started with horticultural donations from the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of comme ...

and the

Huntington Botanical Gardens The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington (1850–1927) and Arabella Huntington (c.1851–1924) in San Mari ...

, among others. By 1947 the garden hosted approximately 1,500 different species and varieties of plants. In the 1960s, garden director Mildred E. Mathias, who oversaw the garden from 1956 to 1974, helped to develop it into the "university garden" and opened it for public tours. "The nest," a small amphitheater designed and built by the garden's staff and volunteers out of Northern Californian incense cedar and boulders shipped from

Duarte, California Duarte () is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 21,727. It is bounded to the north by the San Gabriel Mountains, to the north and west by the cities of Bradbury and Monrovia, ...

, was opened in 1996.

Collections

Because the garden is frost-free it can accommodate tropical and sub-tropical plants, including special collections of ferns, palms, eucalyptus and figs. The eucalyptus and figs were brought to the garden during its early years, before they became widespread in the Los Angeles region. Plants are arranged by geographic, taxonomic or cultural needs to demonstrate to students and visitors how specimens are related to one another. They are also organized by themes, including desert plants, aquatic plants, Mediterranean-climate shrubs, and native Hawaiian plants, among others.Kathleen McCormack, "The Garden Lover's Guide to the West," Princeton: Princeton Architectural Press, 2000, p. 75

Gallery

File:Mildred E. Matthias Botanical Gardens 01.JPG, South entrance to garden File:Gardenology.org-IMG 2335 ucla09.jpg, '' Alberta magna '' File:Gardenology.org-IMG 2332 ucla09.jpg, '' Plectranthus barbatus'' File:Mildred E. Matthias Botanical Gardens 07.JPG, The Nest (outdoor classroom) File:Gardenology.org-IMG 2435 ucla09.jpg, ''

Asclepias curassavica ''Asclepias curassavica'', commonly known as tropical milkweed, is a flowering plant species of the milkweed genus, '' Asclepias''. It is native to the American tropics and has a pantropical distribution as an introduced species. Other common n ...

References

External links

The Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden
- Official website {{Authority control Botanical gardens in California Arboreta in California Parks in Los Angeles Landmarks in Los Angeles Landmarks in California University of California, Los Angeles Westwood, Los Angeles

History

Collections

Gallery

See also

References

External links