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Everyone knows the cliches associated with New York City: concrete, skyscrapers, subways, taxi drivers, and so on. But the Big Apple is also the proud home of three amazing botanical gardens. Yep, three of the more than 2000 such gardens worldwide can be found in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx.
Why botanical gardens? Of the more than 400,000 species of plants identified by botanists across the globe, approximately 34,000 are threatened. In the U.S. alone, more than 200 of the 20,000 known plant species are gone and another 600 to 700 are in imminent danger. By the end of the 21st century—if major changes aren't made—two-thirds of the world's plant species may be extinct. "Botanical gardens can change the world as flagship institutions for research and education about the plant kingdom," writes H. Bruce Rinker. "Plants represent the basis of most life on the planet."
Not to mention, New York's gardens are all accessible via public transportation.
New York Botanical Gardens
Spread over 250 acres in the Bronx, the NYBG was founded in 1891 and draws over 800,000 visitors annually. Don't miss the 50-acre tract of never-harvested oaks, American beeches, cherry, birch, tulip and white ash trees, some more than two centuries old.
Brooklyn Botanic Gardens
A 52-acre living museum founded in 1910 and featuring more than 11,000 different kinds of plants from around the world, this urban oasis stands alongside two other must-see venues: the Brooklyn Museum and Prospect Park. Through September 6, 2009, the BBG features "Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities."
Queens Botanical Gardens
The QBG began as part of the 1939 New York World's Fair in Queens' Flushing Meadows Park. Eventually, when work was begun on construction of the 1964 World's Fair, the QBG was moved to a site across the street and now consists of 39 acres, featuring the Bee Garden, Children?s Garden, Compost Demonstration Gardens, Constructed Wetlands, Fragrance Walk, Green Roof Plant Collection, Senior Garden, and staff vegetable plots.
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