Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Steinhardt Conservatory: Palm House The Palm House is located at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden 1000 Washington Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11225 The setting is unlike anything in New York - celebrated Gardens, Victorian Glasshouse and beautiful indoor Garden Pavilions. The magic of the setting is enhanced by a cuisine based on the freshest and finest ingredients, expertly prepared and beautifully presented. Text from: www.palmhouse.com/about.htm

Steinhardt Conservatory: Palm House The Palm House is located at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden 1000 Washington Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11225 The setting is unlike anything in New York - celebrated Gardens, Victorian Glasshouse and beautiful indoor Garden Pavilions. The magic of the setting is enhanced by a cuisine based on the freshest and finest ingredients, expertly prepared and beautifully presented. Text from: www.palmhouse.com/about.htm

Steinhardt Conservatory: Palm House The Palm House is located at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden 1000 Washington Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11225 The setting is unlike anything in New York - celebrated Gardens, Victorian Glasshouse and beautiful indoor Garden Pavilions. The magic of the setting is enhanced by a cuisine based on the freshest and finest ingredients, expertly prepared and beautifully presented. Text from: www.palmhouse.com/about.htm

Steinhardt Conservatory: Palm House The Palm House is located at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden 1000 Washington Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11225 The setting is unlike anything in New York - celebrated Gardens, Victorian Glasshouse and beautiful indoor Garden Pavilions. The magic of the setting is enhanced by a cuisine based on the freshest and finest ingredients, expertly prepared and beautifully presented. Text from: www.palmhouse.com/about.htm

Steinhardt Conservatory: Desert Pavilion The Desert Pavilion houses plants from arid regions in both the Old and New World. The New World cacti, located on the left side of the room, are from the American Southwest, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. The Old World succulents on the right side of the pavilion are from South Africa, Namibia, Madagascar, the Canary Islands, and North Africa. Shrubs, trees, and wildflowers from these regions are included in the display to illustrate the diversity of desert plant life. Special exhibits include a glassed-in display of lithops (or "living stones") and information on succulent survival strategies, convergent evolution, and the Sonoran and African deserts. Text from: www.bbg.org/exp/stroll/conservatory_desert.html

Steinhardt Conservatory: Tropical Pavilion The largest pavilion of the conservatory, the Tropical Pavilion—6,000 square feet under glass—soars to a height of 65 feet to accommodate the tallest trees. It recreates a tropical forest, including waterfalls and streams. The main tropical regions of the world are represented here: the Amazon basin, African rainforest, and tropical eastern Asia. The rock work includes lava and basalt. Perhaps the earliest American botanic garden to organize its tropical forest display in terms of economic uses of plants, BBG continues this tradition in the Tropical Pavilion. Plantings are arranged to represent the categories of fragrance, food, medicine, and industry, with ornamental plants through the house. For example: Plants used in pharmaceuticals and medicines: rosy periwinkle Plants used as foods, beverages, and spices: mango, banana, breadfruit, coffee, cola, vanilla, cinnamon, chocolate, papaya, star fruit, and sugar apple Plants used by industry, e.g., those used for waxes and lumber: latex and gum plants, and mahogany Plants used for fragrance: jasmine and gardenia A number of economically important plants are less well known to the general public but are familiar to specific ethnic groups in the community. For example, the genipe is well known to Spanish-speaking people, and the fragrant flowers of jasmine are popular with Chinese visitors. Also emphasized in the Tropical Pavilion is the need to be aware of the continued destruction of the tropical forest, which in human terms results in the elimination of potentially valuable plants that can provide food or medicines. Text from: www.bbg.org/exp/stroll/conservatory_tropical.html

Steinhardt Conservatory: Desert Pavilion The Desert Pavilion houses plants from arid regions in both the Old and New World. The New World cacti, located on the left side of the room, are from the American Southwest, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. The Old World succulents on the right side of the pavilion are from South Africa, Namibia, Madagascar, the Canary Islands, and North Africa. Shrubs, trees, and wildflowers from these regions are included in the display to illustrate the diversity of desert plant life. Special exhibits include a glassed-in display of lithops (or "living stones") and information on succulent survival strategies, convergent evolution, and the Sonoran and African deserts. Text from: www.bbg.org/exp/stroll/conservatory_desert.html

Steinhardt Conservatory: Aquatic House and Orchid Collection To the right of the Trail of Evolution is the Robert W. Wilson Aquatic House. It measures 81 feet by 31 feet. Two pools are the centerpieces of the house. The large, shallow pool features a variety of tropical and subtropical aquatic plants from around the world displayed in a naturalistic swamp environment. Its emphasis is on demonstrating the range of physical adaptations plants have made to live in, on, and near water. Plants include mangroves, papyrus, water hyacinth, numerous aroids, and the giant Victoria water platter. The deep pool, or paludarium, displays many other plants of aquatic and wet environments. Treeferns, mosses, orchids, and an epiphyte tree stand above exposed rockwork, while waterfalls cascade into the six-foot-deep pool. Plants growing in and around the pool highlight the diversity of the world's submerged and emergent flora. Visitors can view these plants from above or from windows situated at the base of the pool. In addition to the pools, two special plant cases are built into the east wall of the house. One case features a display of insectivorous plants, including pitcher plants and venus fly-traps. The other houses rotating displays from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's extensive orchid collection (see "The Orchid Collection"). Hanging from racks around the perimeter of the Aquatic House are numerous orchids, staghorn ferns, and other epiphytes. Text from: www.bbg.org/exp/stroll/conservatory_aquatic.html

Steinhardt Conservatory: Warm Temperate Pavilion The Helen Mattin Warm Temperate Pavilion rises to a height of 45 feet and includes 3,000 square feet under glass. It houses trees, shrubs, vines, bulbs, and ground covers that represent the diversity of plant life in warm temperate regions around the world. There, the climate is characterized by cool, wet winters and hot, dry, droughty summers. The temperature range in winter is generally between 45 and 55 degrees Fahrenheit. In the summer, it rises to between 70 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Frost is rare, and fog occurs along western coastlines. Warm temperate climates are found in the following regions and countries: The Mediterranean Basin; South Africa; Australia; New Zealand; Eastern Asia; western coastal regions of North America (mainly California); and western coastal regions of South America (mainly Chile). Plants in these climate zones have special adaptations that allow them to survive seasonally harsh conditions, especially drought, and in some cases, fire. Here are some features to look out for: small, fine leaves, which help decrease transpiration and conserve water; hairy leaves, which accomplish the same job and capture water droplets from fog; silver leaves, which reflect solar radiation; and shrubby stature, due to regular recovery from burning. There are other adaptations that you won't see, notably the underground features of geophytic plants, which die back in the drought season and draw on the food reserves in their corms, rhizomes, tubers, or bulbs. Here are some must-see plants in the Warm Temperate Pavilion: the agriculturally important olive tree from the Mediterranean region; the very distinctive bunya-bunya tree of northeastern Australia; and BBG's special collection of South African bulbs and other warm temperate geophytes, which bloom from late winter to early spring. Text from: www.bbg.org/exp/stroll/conservatory_wtp.html

Steinhardt Conservatory: Bonsai Museum Across from the Aquatic House, to the left of the Trail of Evolution, is the C.V. Starr Bonsai Museum, where BBG's famous collection of indoor and temperate or outdoor bonsai is exhibited in a Japanese-style architectural setting. BBG's bonsai collection is considered one of the finest in the world. It is the second largest on public display outside Japan, featuring as many as 100 specimens at any given time. Some of the trees in the collection are well over a century old. A stylized verandah complete with tokonoma, or alcove, looks out onto the entire exhibit. Text panels introduce the history of bonsai and explain culture and care. Text from: www.bbg.org/exp/stroll/conservatory_bonsai.html

Steinhardt Conservatory: Aquatic House and Orchid Collection To the right of the Trail of Evolution is the Robert W. Wilson Aquatic House. It measures 81 feet by 31 feet. Two pools are the centerpieces of the house. The large, shallow pool features a variety of tropical and subtropical aquatic plants from around the world displayed in a naturalistic swamp environment. Its emphasis is on demonstrating the range of physical adaptations plants have made to live in, on, and near water. Plants include mangroves, papyrus, water hyacinth, numerous aroids, and the giant Victoria water platter. The deep pool, or paludarium, displays many other plants of aquatic and wet environments. Treeferns, mosses, orchids, and an epiphyte tree stand above exposed rockwork, while waterfalls cascade into the six-foot-deep pool. Plants growing in and around the pool highlight the diversity of the world's submerged and emergent flora. Visitors can view these plants from above or from windows situated at the base of the pool. In addition to the pools, two special plant cases are built into the east wall of the house. One case features a display of insectivorous plants, including pitcher plants and venus fly-traps. The other houses rotating displays from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's extensive orchid collection (see "The Orchid Collection"). Hanging from racks around the perimeter of the Aquatic House are numerous orchids, staghorn ferns, and other epiphytes. Text from: www.bbg.org/exp/stroll/conservatory_aquatic.html

Steinhardt Conservatory: Aquatic House and Orchid Collection To the right of the Trail of Evolution is the Robert W. Wilson Aquatic House. It measures 81 feet by 31 feet. Two pools are the centerpieces of the house. The large, shallow pool features a variety of tropical and subtropical aquatic plants from around the world displayed in a naturalistic swamp environment. Its emphasis is on demonstrating the range of physical adaptations plants have made to live in, on, and near water. Plants include mangroves, papyrus, water hyacinth, numerous aroids, and the giant Victoria water platter. The deep pool, or paludarium, displays many other plants of aquatic and wet environments. Treeferns, mosses, orchids, and an epiphyte tree stand above exposed rockwork, while waterfalls cascade into the six-foot-deep pool. Plants growing in and around the pool highlight the diversity of the world's submerged and emergent flora. Visitors can view these plants from above or from windows situated at the base of the pool. In addition to the pools, two special plant cases are built into the east wall of the house. One case features a display of insectivorous plants, including pitcher plants and venus fly-traps. The other houses rotating displays from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's extensive orchid collection (see "The Orchid Collection"). Hanging from racks around the perimeter of the Aquatic House are numerous orchids, staghorn ferns, and other epiphytes. Text from: www.bbg.org/exp/stroll/conservatory_aquatic.html

Steinhardt Conservatory: Tropical Pavilion The largest pavilion of the conservatory, the Tropical Pavilion—6,000 square feet under glass—soars to a height of 65 feet to accommodate the tallest trees. It recreates a tropical forest, including waterfalls and streams. The main tropical regions of the world are represented here: the Amazon basin, African rainforest, and tropical eastern Asia. The rock work includes lava and basalt. Perhaps the earliest American botanic garden to organize its tropical forest display in terms of economic uses of plants, BBG continues this tradition in the Tropical Pavilion. Plantings are arranged to represent the categories of fragrance, food, medicine, and industry, with ornamental plants through the house. For example: Plants used in pharmaceuticals and medicines: rosy periwinkle Plants used as foods, beverages, and spices: mango, banana, breadfruit, coffee, cola, vanilla, cinnamon, chocolate, papaya, star fruit, and sugar apple Plants used by industry, e.g., those used for waxes and lumber: latex and gum plants, and mahogany Plants used for fragrance: jasmine and gardenia A number of economically important plants are less well known to the general public but are familiar to specific ethnic groups in the community. For example, the genipe is well known to Spanish-speaking people, and the fragrant flowers of jasmine are popular with Chinese visitors. Also emphasized in the Tropical Pavilion is the need to be aware of the continued destruction of the tropical forest, which in human terms results in the elimination of potentially valuable plants that can provide food or medicines. Text from: www.bbg.org/exp/stroll/conservatory_tropical.html

Steinhardt Conservatory: Tropical Pavilion The largest pavilion of the conservatory, the Tropical Pavilion—6,000 square feet under glass—soars to a height of 65 feet to accommodate the tallest trees. It recreates a tropical forest, including waterfalls and streams. The main tropical regions of the world are represented here: the Amazon basin, African rainforest, and tropical eastern Asia. The rock work includes lava and basalt. Perhaps the earliest American botanic garden to organize its tropical forest display in terms of economic uses of plants, BBG continues this tradition in the Tropical Pavilion. Plantings are arranged to represent the categories of fragrance, food, medicine, and industry, with ornamental plants through the house. For example: Plants used in pharmaceuticals and medicines: rosy periwinkle Plants used as foods, beverages, and spices: mango, banana, breadfruit, coffee, cola, vanilla, cinnamon, chocolate, papaya, star fruit, and sugar apple Plants used by industry, e.g., those used for waxes and lumber: latex and gum plants, and mahogany Plants used for fragrance: jasmine and gardenia A number of economically important plants are less well known to the general public but are familiar to specific ethnic groups in the community. For example, the genipe is well known to Spanish-speaking people, and the fragrant flowers of jasmine are popular with Chinese visitors. Also emphasized in the Tropical Pavilion is the need to be aware of the continued destruction of the tropical forest, which in human terms results in the elimination of potentially valuable plants that can provide food or medicines. Text from: www.bbg.org/exp/stroll/conservatory_tropical.html

Steinhardt Conservatory: Tropical Pavilion The largest pavilion of the conservatory, the Tropical Pavilion—6,000 square feet under glass—soars to a height of 65 feet to accommodate the tallest trees. It recreates a tropical forest, including waterfalls and streams. The main tropical regions of the world are represented here: the Amazon basin, African rainforest, and tropical eastern Asia. The rock work includes lava and basalt. Perhaps the earliest American botanic garden to organize its tropical forest display in terms of economic uses of plants, BBG continues this tradition in the Tropical Pavilion. Plantings are arranged to represent the categories of fragrance, food, medicine, and industry, with ornamental plants through the house. For example: Plants used in pharmaceuticals and medicines: rosy periwinkle Plants used as foods, beverages, and spices: mango, banana, breadfruit, coffee, cola, vanilla, cinnamon, chocolate, papaya, star fruit, and sugar apple Plants used by industry, e.g., those used for waxes and lumber: latex and gum plants, and mahogany Plants used for fragrance: jasmine and gardenia A number of economically important plants are less well known to the general public but are familiar to specific ethnic groups in the community. For example, the genipe is well known to Spanish-speaking people, and the fragrant flowers of jasmine are popular with Chinese visitors. Also emphasized in the Tropical Pavilion is the need to be aware of the continued destruction of the tropical forest, which in human terms results in the elimination of potentially valuable plants that can provide food or medicines. Text from: www.bbg.org/exp/stroll/conservatory_tropical.html

Steinhardt Conservatory: Tropical Pavilion The largest pavilion of the conservatory, the Tropical Pavilion—6,000 square feet under glass—soars to a height of 65 feet to accommodate the tallest trees. It recreates a tropical forest, including waterfalls and streams. The main tropical regions of the world are represented here: the Amazon basin, African rainforest, and tropical eastern Asia. The rock work includes lava and basalt. Perhaps the earliest American botanic garden to organize its tropical forest display in terms of economic uses of plants, BBG continues this tradition in the Tropical Pavilion. Plantings are arranged to represent the categories of fragrance, food, medicine, and industry, with ornamental plants through the house. For example: Plants used in pharmaceuticals and medicines: rosy periwinkle Plants used as foods, beverages, and spices: mango, banana, breadfruit, coffee, cola, vanilla, cinnamon, chocolate, papaya, star fruit, and sugar apple Plants used by industry, e.g., those used for waxes and lumber: latex and gum plants, and mahogany Plants used for fragrance: jasmine and gardenia A number of economically important plants are less well known to the general public but are familiar to specific ethnic groups in the community. For example, the genipe is well known to Spanish-speaking people, and the fragrant flowers of jasmine are popular with Chinese visitors. Also emphasized in the Tropical Pavilion is the need to be aware of the continued destruction of the tropical forest, which in human terms results in the elimination of potentially valuable plants that can provide food or medicines. Text from: www.bbg.org/exp/stroll/conservatory_tropical.html

Steinhardt Conservatory: Desert Pavilion The Desert Pavilion houses plants from arid regions in both the Old and New World. The New World cacti, located on the left side of the room, are from the American Southwest, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. The Old World succulents on the right side of the pavilion are from South Africa, Namibia, Madagascar, the Canary Islands, and North Africa. Shrubs, trees, and wildflowers from these regions are included in the display to illustrate the diversity of desert plant life. Special exhibits include a glassed-in display of lithops (or "living stones") and information on succulent survival strategies, convergent evolution, and the Sonoran and African deserts. Text from: www.bbg.org/exp/stroll/conservatory_desert.html

Steinhardt Conservatory: Desert Pavilion The Desert Pavilion houses plants from arid regions in both the Old and New World. The New World cacti, located on the left side of the room, are from the American Southwest, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. The Old World succulents on the right side of the pavilion are from South Africa, Namibia, Madagascar, the Canary Islands, and North Africa. Shrubs, trees, and wildflowers from these regions are included in the display to illustrate the diversity of desert plant life. Special exhibits include a glassed-in display of lithops (or "living stones") and information on succulent survival strategies, convergent evolution, and the Sonoran and African deserts. Text from: www.bbg.org/exp/stroll/conservatory_desert.html