A Taste of the Tropics

If you want to take a vacation to an exotic location you might choose a tropical country like the Maldives, Indonesia or Costa Rica. But you can also visit the tropics closer to home. The recently renovated Tropical Greenhouse at the Basel University Botanical Garden offers an impressive collection split between one section for plants from hot, humid regions and another section for plants from tropical cloud forests.

On 8th March a large Centrepoint group enjoyed a private tour of the Tropical Greenhouse under the guidance of Charlotta Mattsson, a young biologist who is researching the impact of climate change on plants in Greenland.

The yellow and black Poison Dart Frog. Photo: Kim Leadbeater

“The tour was a complete sensory experience with warm mist, cool mist and the lovely sound of chirping frogs, including the beautiful yellow and black Poison Dart Frog,” says Roxanne Baxter. Charlotta explained the origins and characteristics of the plants and their constant struggle to reach sunlight and to reproduce, encouraging us to touch, smell and taste the leaves of some of the plants.

We came across rare orchids, the gigantic Titan Arum (Corpse Flower) which has the largest functional flower in the plant kingdom, and tropical crops like cocoa, banana and coffee. The tour ended at the nearby Victoria Greenhouse which houses its namesake Victoria Lily, the two-metre-wide Amazon water lily together with several other tropical swamp and water plants.

Trailing Lily. Photo: Louis Bisaillon

The Botanical Garden of the University of Basel, founded in 1589, is one of the oldest botanical gardens in Europe and was originally located near the old university on the Rheinsprung. In 1898, It was relocated to its current location near the Spalentor. The Botanical Garden runs a full programme of tours and special exhibits throughout the year, including a plant of the month.

For more information: Botanischer Garten der Universität Basel.

Text: Michelle Lauterbach

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