On the initiative of Arturo Roque and supported by the president of the university, Dr. Jaime Benítez, the Botanical Garden was inaugurated on March 10, 1971.

The garden's botanical collections, lakes, falls and shelters are well connected by paths, roads and walkways, allowing the visitor to know and better appreciate the value of native and tropical flora.

A Master Plan designated as the San Juan Ecological Corridor is underway which includes the development of public spaces, display exhibits, linkages for the new Tren Urbano with the University of Puerto Rico, the Nuevo Milenio State Forest, the Río Piedras River riparian zones, and its floodplain restoration.

The Garden comprises a living laboratory for informal instruction of the community in all aspects of the native flora and the other plants which are cultivated there.

The endemic plants of Puerto Rico, including some which are threatened in the wild or in danger of extinction, are found in the northern part of the Garden.

Here are the plants that the Puerto Rican botanist Agustín Stahl identified:[citation needed] * Argythamnia stahlii (Urb.)