Kew Gardens is the world's largest collection of living plants. Founded in 1840 from the exotic garden at Kew Park in the
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, UK, its living collections include more than 30,000 different kinds of plants, while the
herbarium, which is one of the largest in the world, has over preserved plant specimens. The library contains more than 750,000 volumes, and the illustrations collection contains more than 175,000 prints and drawings of plants. It is one of London's top tourist attractions. In 2003, the gardens were put on the
UNESCO list of
World Heritage Sites.