Plant Families

The systematic collection, located east of the crosswalk in beds 1 to 40 (map not yet available), demonstrates the range of plants found within a plant family. Families are arranged in a semi-evolutionary sequence. The most primitive families of flowering plants begin in Bed 1. A walk through this collection is like traveling through evolutionary time. The most advanced and successful plant family at present ends in Bed 40. Not surprisingly, this is the dandelion family (Asteraceae)!