University of South Florida Botanical Gardens

When the USF Botanical Gardens was established in 1969, the Gardens were little more than wilderness, Lake Behnke was small and marsh-like, Fowler Avenue was a two-lane road and the University Mall did not exist. There were no pine trees, only native live oaks and turkey oaks. Very few people knew this small jewel existed. During the 1970's and 1980's, the Gardens served primarily as a teaching and research facility for the Biology Department at the University and was first located near the Police Station.

Today, the Gardens are part of the Department of Environmental Science and Policy in the College of Arts & Sciences. It consists of approximately 7 acres of developed gardens connected to an additional 6-9 acres of greenbelt area to the north on the southwest corner of the USF Tampa campus.The Gardens maintains a living collection of over 3,000 taxa of plants and natural habitats including: fruit trees, grasses, begonias, orchids, bromeliads, palms, aroids, gingers, carnivorous plants, cycads, cactus and succulent plants, an herb and scent garden, wetland forest, temperate forest, subtropical shade garden, and Florida upland scrub and sandhill habitats. The Gardens serve as an important outreach component of USF. It is a portal the University with an estimated 35,000 visitors annually. Visitors to the Gardens have come from over 70 cities in Florida, 31 states, and 13 countries.