The Jardín Botánico de Cali (JBC) is a 14-hectare botanical garden dedicated exclusively to the conservation, research, and environmental education of the flora of the tropical dry forest (TDF) of Colombia’s geographical Cauca River Valley — one of the most threatened ecosystems on Earth, with less than 500 hectares of original forest remaining. Located in the city of Cali, Valle del Cauca, the Garden was established in 2001 and currently maintains 3,740 plant accessions, of which 80% are native TDF species. The living collection is anchored by a late secondary TDF remnant, complemented by 14 themed stations connecting visitors to the ecology, uses, and conservation of dry forest plants.

Among the Garden’s most significant holdings are living collections of threatened and endemic species of the geographical Cauca River Valley. The collection includes Browneopsis sanintiae (Critically Endangered) — an endemic tree described from this landscape, for which JBC maintains one of the only documented ex situ collections in Colombia — and Urceolina caucana (Critically Endangered), a rare endemic bulbous plant of the Cauca Valley. Notable tree collections further include Chloroleucon sempervivum (Endangered, accession JBC-2066), an endemic known from a single wild population in Colombia. Additional threatened taxa include Heliconia fernandezii (Endangered), Philodendron gloriosum (Vulnerable), and Centrolobium paraense (Near Threatened). Active research programmes focus on threatened Orchidaceae of the Cauca Valley, and the Garden is currently developing ex situ collections for additional Endangered tree species through ongoing BGCI-supported conservation projects.