Established in 1968 with funds from Duke and the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Phytotron is a controlled environment research facility located on the Duke University campus housing plant growth chambers, controlled greenhouses, and associated instrumentation and laboratories. The Phytotron Records contain correspondence, memoranda, financial records, reports, grant proposals, blueprints, schematics, contracts, supplier catalogs, specification books, and other records of the planning, construction, and operation of the facility. Major subjects include the Duke University Dept. of Botany and Dept. of Biology, greenhouses, and global environmental change. English.

The Phytotron Records contain correspondence, memoranda, financial records, reports, grant proposals, blueprints, schematics, contracts, supplier catalogs, specification books, and ot er records of the planning and construction of the facility, as well as the operation of the Phytotron. These materials include a 1962 feasibility study, meeting minutes, construction progress reports, descriptions of phytotrons in business and academic settings, architect's reports, a facilities review, and records of the opening and dedication (1968), the Phytotron Board, the Regional Phytotron Committee, and USDA workshops.

The Department of Botany existed at Duke from 1935 until 2000, when it joined with the Department of Zoology to re-form the Department of Biology. Collection contains assorted records from the Department of Botany, spanning from 1932 to 1978. Included are ledgers of financial records from the late 1930s, newspaper clippings from throughout the department's history, promotional materials, and committee reports from the mid 1960s.

This collection of records from the Duke University Botany Department includes a laboratory manual with class materials from Botany 1 and 2 in 1940 as well as two early account books from the time of the department's founding (1936-1940), which contain a record of wages, office supplies, general supplies, repairs, equipment, and research grants. Other materials include newpaper clippings concerning the department (1932-1978), promotional materials (1967-1977), and committee self study and curriculum reports (1963-1965).