Medicinal plants have an immense need for intensive curation and interpretation. Many of the more powerful and important medicinal species have little aesthetic value, making medicinal collections difficult to display.

Living collections are at the center of botanic garden interpretation and education. Increasingly, however, gardens implement learning approaches that disconnect the concepts from the collections.

As climate change places continued pressure upon wild-plant populations, botanical gardens and arboreta become increasingly indispensable conservation agents.