On Tuesday, Australian camellia specialist Stephen Utick presented DBG camellia and theme curator Marianne Groothuis with a framed certificate to recognise the achievement.
"It’s obviously very prestigious to be recognised with this international award," DBG manager Alan Matchett said.
"It’s an honour for the garden and staff of Marianne and her very capable team."
Dr Utick is recognised across the world as one of Australia’s foremost experts on camellias. A director of the International Camellia Society (ICS), he chairs the society’s committee for historic camellia conservation and was co-founder of Camellia Ark Australia, which aims to conserve Australia’s rarest camellias.
Congratulating the DBG , he said he was "most impressed with the excellent standard" of the collection and was delighted to see a number of rare items.
"Several plants here are extremely rare globally, so well done Dunedin," Dr Utick said.
Others in the garden were cultural icons, including the tea plant (Camellia sinensis).
"Tea still rules over coffee," he said.
