Center for tropical plant conservation
Since the 1930s Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden has emphasized the expansion of plant knowledge through publications, education programs, and research in taxonomy, floristics, conservation biology and ethno-botany. In recent years, Fairchild botanical and environmental research programs have been funded by grants from the MacArthur Foundation, National Science Foundation, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and many others. The Garden has also distributed plants and seeds both to fellow scientists, commercial grower, and members of the local community. Here are a few of the research areas for which the Garden is renowned worldwide:

Palm Biology
With its superb living collections of palms, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is a world center for palm studies, biology, information and conservation.  The palm family is an economically important pantropical plant family, second only to grasses (grains) in importance to the lives of people. Many palms are endangered in the wild, largely because of habitat destruction. Palms are also difficult to study because of their large size and great species diversity, and present many unanswered questions regarding their evolution, structural biology and reproductive biology.

South Florida Plants and Environments
As South Florida continues to grow expanding urbanization, agriculture and invasive exotic plants is disrupting the region's ecosystems. However, preserving our ecosystem is vital to our survival. Restoring the local environment requires immediate and accurate documentation of the present condition of plant biodiversity throughout the region. Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is the main research institution engaged in studies of local endangered species and their reintroduction in South Florida.

Caribbean Biodiversity 
Working with international partner institutions in the Caribbean, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is involved in research and planning efforts to develop integrated conservation programs throughout the region.

Tropical Fruit Crops
Tropical fruit trees are increasingly important in agroforestry and in sustainable agricultural development throughout the tropics. Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is an international leader in introducing new cultivars, and providing tropical fruit information and genetic material to the industry and the general public. On November 8, 2003 the William F. Whitman Tropical Fruit Pavilion opened as the showcase for the Tropical Fruit Program.

Tropical Plan Systematics
The Tropical Plan Systematics Program at Fairchild studies the evolution, biogeography and relationships among plants using methods ranging from centuries-old techniques to state-of-the-art molecular analysis and GIS (geographic information systems).

Herbarium 
A "library" of dried plant specimens, the Fairchild herbarium is the largest of its kind in the region, with more than 165,000 preserved plant specimens. Strengths of the collection include the floras of Florida, the Bahamas and Caribbean basin; cultivated plants of tropical Florida, and worldwide palms and cycads. The associated taxonomic and ecological reprint collection is one of the largest compilations of botanical literature in the southeastern U.S.; related collections include more than 1,000 original technical botanical illustrations. The Botanical Resource Center, and Virtual Herbarium launched in January 1999, make the herbarium specimens and the Garden's living collection accessible via the World Wide Web. 

Collaborative Partnerships in Botanical Research
Florida International University (FIU) and Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden have established a joint faculty position in Plant Molecular Systematics that will be based at the Fairchild Research Center. The purpose of this position is to study the origin and evolution of plant groups using modern DNA technologies.  Funding for the joint position comes from the newly established Tropical Biology Program at Florida International University. The FIU Tropical Biology Program combines expertise from the Department of Biological Sciences, Department of Environmental Studies, Southeast Environmental Research Program, and Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.

New Research Projects
Dr. Javier Francisco-Ortega, the FIU/FTG molecular plant systematist, is presently working on a National Science Foundation project with the University of Texas to study the evolution and origin of the Macronesian flora in the Canary Islands. In addition to molecular systematics, Dr. Francisco-Ortega also has a keen interest in the conservation of island plant biodiversity.