El Botànic, pertaining to the University of Valencia, is a typical university garden, like others that sprang up in 16th century renaissance Europe. Such gardens are live plant museums, which are used to show visitors the diversity of the plant kingdom, how plants adapt and their relationship with animals, their usefulness to mankind and how they can be grown. This, and their use for teaching and research purposes, is their true mission.

Currently, over 4.500 different species are grown, arranged in 20 collections. The School of Botany covers the largest area. The rest is monographic and follows three basic criteria: plants used by human beings, plants grown under protection and plants from the same ecological environment. Most of the collections are growing outdoors, in the open air, while some are housed in the greenhouses and shade-house.