The Desert Botanical Garden is situated inside Papagpo Park in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The garden covers an area of about 140 acres (20ha). The Desert Botanical Garden was established by the Arizona Cactus and native flora Society in 1937. The present site was founded in 1939. At present the Desert Botanical Garden has over 21, 000 plants which are in more than 4000 taxa, of which one third are native to the area, this includes 139 species that are rare, threatened or endangered.

There is also an abundant collection of agave (of about 176 taxa) and cacti (this includes 10, 350 plats that are in 1, 350 taxa). Flora that are used to milder climates are shaded away from the sun through the use of shadehouses. Among the plants used to extreme desert conditions there are collections that include the Australian collection, Baja California collection and the South American Collection.

Numerous ecosystems are characterized here, some of these include the mesquite bosque, the semi desert grasslands and the upland chaparral scrubs. In the early 1990s, the desert House was setup to show the remarkable energy efficient systems that were there, such as the evaporative cooler, a rainwater capture system and the sullage irrigation system. The Desert Botanical Garden has been nominated as a Phoenix Point of Pride. The Phoenix Point of Pride is a list of 33 landmarks and attractions that are inside the city limits of Phoenix, Arizona that epitomize the best characteristics of the city to both local and tourists.

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Naveen Marasinghe
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