Epiphyte Tree ListingNew Epiphyte Tree
During the summer of 2009, we have been renovating our front entry hall (formerly known as the 'Fern Room') into a new and exciting Epiphyte Room. The main focal point in this newly renovated space is a large artificial epiphyte tree, constructed in collaboration with the Connecticut Orchid Society, in recognition of their 50th Anniversary. The tree stands around 12 feet tall and is almost 5 feet in diameter.
This newly revised space will allow us a better gathering place for greeting visitors arriving for tours of our facility as well as allowing us to demonstrate a wide variety of epiphytic plant adaptations. There over 25,000 species of plants that have evolved to live among the rainforest canopy, free of a solely earthbound existence, but this ecological niche comes with both benefits and penalties.
The tree itself was constructed largely of recycled materials salvaged from old bench frames and expanded metal decking. It was then clad with durable bark from the cork oak - Quercus suber. Hundreds of additional epiphyte specimens adorn the custom racks and mounts around the perimeter of the room.
The listing on the right pane is a sampling of some of the plants you will find in the epiphyte room. Some plants will have permanent residence in this space, but others will rotate in and out of this area from other parts of the collections. We hope you will enjoy stopping in to see what's new in our epiphyte room and take the time to peruse the other public areas of our collections as well.
We are extremely grateful to the following members of the Connecticut Orchid Society who volunteered many hours of their time over the summer to help us bring this project to fruition: Judy Arth, Judy Becker, Richard Delisle, Sharon Smith Delisle, Alan and Cheryl Mizak.
Construction Progress Slideshow
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= Currently Flowering
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