Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

The Palm House in the Royal Botanic Garden
Non Departmental Public Body overview
Formed	1670 (in Holyrood Park) 1820 (moved to current Inverleith site)
Preceding agencies	1. the country's first physic garden, near Holyrood Abbey, in Holyrood Park 2. a site to the east of the Nor Loch, now built over by Waverley Station 3. a site off Leith Walk on the road to Leith
Type	Executive Non Departmental Public Body Registered charity (number SC007983)
Jurisdiction	Scottish Government
Headquarters	20A Inverleith Row Edinburgh EH3 5LR 55°57′54″N 3°12′36″W / 55.96500°N 3.21000°W / 55.96500; -3.21000
Employees	250
Annual budget	£12.3 million (2010–11)
Minister responsible	Roseanna Cunningham, Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform
Non Departmental Public Body executive	Simon Milne, Regius Keeper, Chief Executive Officer and Accountable Officer
Parent department	Economy Directorates
Child agencies	Benmore Botanic Garden, Argyll Dawyck Botanic Garden, Borders Logan Botanic Garden, Galloway
Website	www.rbge.org.uk

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) (Scottish Gaelic: Gàrradh Luibh-eòlais Rìoghail Dhùn Èideann) is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies four sites across Scotland—Edinburgh, Dawyck, Logan and Benmore—each with its own specialist collection. The RBGE's living collection consists of more than 13,302 plant species (34,422 accessions),^[1] whilst the herbarium contains in excess of 3 million preserved specimens.

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. The Edinburgh site is the main garden and the headquarters of the public body, which is led by Regius Keeper Simon Milne.