The Arctic-Alpine Botanic Garden in Norway and the Jardim Botânico of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil are two of many botanical
gardens around the world dedicated to growing diverse plant ______ fostering scientiﬁc research; and educating the public
about plant conservation.
species, both native and nonnative,
species, both native and nonnative;
species; both native and nonnative,
species both native and nonnative,
Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is the punctuation of items in a complex series (a series including
internal punctuation). The semicolon after “nonnative” is correctly used to separate the ﬁrst item (“growing diverse plant
species, both native and nonnative”) and the second item (“fostering scientiﬁc research”) in the series of things that
botanical gardens are dedicated to. Further, the comma after “species” is correctly used to separate the noun phrase “diverse
plant species” and the supplementary phrase “both native and nonnative” that modiﬁes it.
Choice A is incorrect because a comma (speciﬁcally, the comma after “nonnative”) can’t be used in this way to separate
items in a complex series. Choice C is incorrect because a semicolon can’t be used in this way to separate the noun phrase
“diverse plant species” and the supplementary phrase “both native and nonnative” that modiﬁes it. Further, a comma can’t be
used in this way to separate items in a complex series. Choice D is incorrect because it fails to use appropriate punctuation
to separate the noun phrase “diverse plant species” and the supplementary phrase “both native and nonnative” that modiﬁes
it. Further, a comma can’t be used in this way to separate items in a complex series.