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| Sunken Garden Flower Show |
Today is a cool Minnesota day. At 9:50am, the outside temperature is a cool
54 degF. As I enter the conservatory, I
notice that all of the side windows are open in the North Garden and the Sunken
Garden. Brrrrrrrrrr. Very cool in what should be a warmer
tropical environment. I, of course, wore
my shorts because the conservatory is always very warm! Not today!
So I actually spent much of my time in the Palm Dome where the windows
were closed and the air temperatures more comfortable.
As I reflect on the coolness inside the North Garden, I
recall that there are multiple types of rainforests that successfully sustain forest
species. For example, there are the
Pacific temperate rainforests in northwestern United States and the beautiful
montane forests of central and south America. Perhaps a few of the plants in
the North Garden are relishing (in their own way) the coolness that the open
windows are bringing into their environment today!
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| One of the Palm Dome bromeliads |
With those thoughts, I present a few pictures of plants in
the Palm Dome. The bromeliads are quite
beautiful and clearly draw the interests of most visitors. The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family
of monocot flowering plants native mainly to the tropical Americas.
The Boat
Lily plant (
Tradescantia spathacea), commonly
called Moses-in-a-basket or oyster plant, has leaves that are a dark green on
top with a vivid violet color underneath. The small white three-petaled flowers
poke out of the boat-shaped purple bracts nestled in the leaf axils. Flowers
and seed are produced all year in the native habitats in Mexico and Central
America.
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| Boat Lily |
Boat lily is thought to have been used cosmetically by the central
American Mayans. Today, the juice is
used to clean wounds by some people in Mexico, although it's also known that some people
have skin sensitivities to this juice.
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| Crepe Myrtle Bonsai |
Off of the Palm Dome area is the new Ordway Center Japanese
Bonsai collection. I don’t want you to
miss this beautiful photo of one of the conservatory’s bonsai plants. This is a Crepe Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) tree that has been trained to grow
small. Many people don’t realize that
bonsai trees still flower and produce seed and the results can be spectacular. I
took a bonsai class last year and have my own juniper bonsai tree at home. I’ve had it for a year and it’s still looking
great (and with the tiniest trimming, still looks like a bonsai tree – yea!).
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| Cola Nut Flowers |
I return to the North Garden to choose the plant of the day
which is the Cola Nut, aka Kola Nut, (Cola
acuminata), native of tropical Africa.
The fruits of this plant contain two alkaloids: caffeine and
theobromine. These alkaloids are stimulants that fight tiredness, reduce hunger and
thirst. They can be roasted, pounded or chewed and can be added to drinks such
as tea or milk, or to cereals like porridge. The original Coke cola beverage is said to
have originated from the use of this nut in the product (hence the name).
For more information
(all websites Accessed September 2, 2013):
United States Department of Agriculture Plant Database:
Center for International Forestry Factsheets:
http://www.cifor.org/publications/pdf_files/factsheet/cola_eng.pdf
I’m always amazed at
the beautiful uniqueness of the bomeliad flowers. As I mentioned in my last blog, the Bromeliaceae
(the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants native mainly to the
tropical Americas. 
My favorite bromeliad in the Conservatory is the pineapple. In
addition to being delicious to eat, it is the only bromeliad that produces a
fruit that can be eaten, so it’s an economically important bromeliad. Look at these photos of
some of the Conservatory bromeliads. The
photos don’t do them justice, though - they are more beautiful and interesting
in person! 
