We are in the greenhouse dedicated to rainforests. Tropical plants like plenty of rain on a frequent basis, combined with constant high temperatures throughout the year. These are the conditions we find in the tropics – and in this greenhouse. Did you know that rainforests occupy less than 10% of the world’s land but host more than 70% of its biodiversity?

In the tropics, the trees are huge, over 40 metres in height. So this is the biggest greenhouse in the garden. These giants are also evergreen and they stop light reaching the undergrowth. The ground beneath is almost completely dark; some plants have adapted to living in poor light, but others … have climbed upwards! They reach for the little light available, like the famous lianas, or they use tree branches as support and live suspended. They’re not parasitic plants, but epiphytes, a name meaning that they “live above trees”.

Life upside down! But how is it done? Some bromeliads, for example, have brightly coloured flowers to attract pollinators, including the famous hummingbird. And they have long leaves, arranged in a compact spiral, which form a kind of bowl to collect rainwater and debris, acting as miniature ponds.

In nature, these microhabitats formed by bromeliads are also home to other plants, some of which are carnivorous, such as utricularia. Then there are algae, dragonflies and other insects, bats, birds and snakes, as well as frogs who lay their spawn inside this bowl where tadpoles are then born.

Suspended ponds. Clever things, bromeliads, right? They have names like Neoregelia, Guzmania, and Nidularium. And while these names sound unfamiliar to you, we have one in our greenhouse that you will definitely know: pineapple, one of the first bromeliads to be imported to Europe. It was cultivated by pre-Columbian populations and Christopher Columbus mentioned it after he saw it in Guadeloupe in 1493. When it arrived in Europe, King Charles V refused to taste it as he feared it might be poisonous.

Other epiphyte plants that you will know for sure are orchids, but there is one you may not be aware of, used in cooking: vanilla, which is actually a climbing orchid native to South America.

In its natural habitat, vanilla forms a pod after the flowers have been pollinated by a specific genus of bees, the Melipona. For specimens grown elsewhere, artificial pollination is used. In Padua, the first to succeed was the Scientific Director Roberto de Visiani. In 1844 he published a text on the “cultivation and fruiting of vanilla”, choosing to share his discoveries with the scientific community, instead of using them to make a profit.

This greenhouse is a delight and be sure to take in the cocoa and bananas. Ah, and also look out for the beautiful fanning traveller’s palm, which always grows in a specific direction.
Enjoy.