The center's collections provide genetically diverse population samples of wild-collected palms and cycads, with thorough documentation of each plant.

They aim to represent the full morphologic and genetic diversities within a species throughout its known native geographic range.

Plants and seeds have been collected in over 50 expeditions to countries and territories including Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guyana, Honduras, Indonesia, Jamaica, Japan, Madagascar, Mexico, New Caledonia, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Peru, Philippines, South Africa, Southern Africa, Spain, Thailand, Venezuela, and Vietnam.

In 2018, the Center's executive director, Dr. Patrick Griffith, noted that the garden's palm trees had proved more resistant to saltwater than previously expected.

However, Griffith noted, a third of the garden's current property would likely be underwater in a century due to climate change.