The Gibraltar Botanic Gardens are an Associate Campus of the University of Gibraltar.
We are involved in research and conservation that includes work in the following fields:
Collections
Our extensive living collections of plants include the building of a large, carefully documented collection of cacti and other succulent plants, grown from seed to maximise genetic diversity. We also house a reference collection for identification of insects in Gibraltar and a small herbarium.
Flora of Gibraltar
We propagate plants that are special to Gibraltar for conservation purposes and together with the Gibraltar Ornithological & Natural History Society, we developed and maintain a complete, online Flora of Gibraltar. A particularly significant achievement was the rescuing from extinction of the extremely rare Gibraltar Campion Silene tomentosa.
Caribbean Cacti
Caribbean Cacti are one of our foci. Our plant researchers are currently studying the taxonomy and distribution of the cacti of the Caribbean, via extensive fieldwork and detailed reviews of literature and herbarium specimens.
Moroccan Succulents
We keep a large living collection of succulents from southwest Morocco and study them in the field.
Terrestrial Ecology
We are involved in a range of work on terrestrial ecology in Gibraltar, from daily monitoring and inventorying of native and pest insects, to research on migratory birds. We also work on ant faunas at a regional and global level.
