The Huntington Botanical Gardens - The Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory for Botanical Science

The Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory for Botanical Science

What's New and Blooming

The Huntington's Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory for Botanical Science adds a public exhibition and interactive learning space to the existing facilities for botanical research. The new conservatory features four distinct "environments" created for different hands-on botanical exhibits including a Tropical Forest Rotunda, Cloud Forest, Carnivorous Plant Bog, and Field Lab. Living plant displays, water features, and interactive learning stations invite active exploration and discovery.

Something New 4 April 2007

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Vanilla planifolia

Vanilla Orchid

Vanilla planifolia

Theobroma cacao

Cacao

Theobroma cacao

Cacao pods

Theobroma cacao

Cacao flowers

Theobroma cacao

Cacao pod and flower

Both vanilla and chocolate are new world plants from the topical regions of Mexico, Central and South America and introduced to Europe by the early Spanish explorers. Vanilla comes from an orchid, Vanilla planifolia once the flower is pollinated and the seed pod ripened the pods are harvested and processed to produce what we know as vanilla. Chocolate comes from the Cacao plant, Theobroma cacao. The seeds are removed from the pods and processed making chocolate.

Views from Inside The Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory for Botanical Science

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Conservatory Dome	Erythrina variegata	Pachystachys lutea

Cubanola dominguensis	Ecbolium viride	Zamia neurophyllida

Areca ipot	Medinilla sp.	Costus osae

Pisonia umbellifera 'Variegata'	Dioscorea discolor	Anthurium mancuniense
Some of the Orchids to be discovered in the Cloud Forest Gallery

Lockhartia integra	Miltonia candida	Lycaste cruenta

Dendrobium chrysanthum	Dendrobium amabile	Holcoglossum wangii