MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN

also called Shaw's Garden botanical garden in St. Louis, Mo., most notable for its Climatron, a geodesic-dome greenhouse in which 1,500 species of plants from different environments are grown under computer-controlled conditions simulating four major climates. The 26-hectare (65-acre) garden also has special collections of orchids and tropical plants. The herbarium contains 1,700,000 dried specimens. Privately administered, the garden was established in 1859 as the gift of Henry Shaw, a merchant. The garden's periodical Missouri Botanical Gardens Bulletin contains material of interest to the general public.