"The World in One Garden" was the original concept behind director Adolf Engler's inspiration to erect the Botanic Garden (Botanischer Garten) in Berlin-Dahlem at the turn of the 20th century. Today, the 43-hectare garden has 20,000 plant species and is one of the largest and most important gardens of its kind in the world. It encompasses 15 display greenhouses, the largest of which – the Great Tropical House – was built in 1907 and renovated in 2009. A highlight of the garden is its plant-geographical layout: A third of the total garden area shows a walk-in world map of the natural vegetation of the temperate northern hemisphere.
The Botanical Museum (Botanisches Museum) was founded in 1905 as a complement to the Botanic Garden and is the only one of its kind in Central Europe. At present, the valuable holdings of the former Royal Herbarium are stored here. The exhibition areas will be comprehensively modernised and are expected to be closed until the end of 2022.