Must-see plants

• Welwitschia (Welwitschia mirabilis), sometimes referred to as a living fossil, is the only living genus of the family Welwitschiaceae. It produces only a single pair of foliage leaves—each leaf reaching a maxiumum length of 4 meters (13 feet). Some plants are believed to be over a 1000 years old; a few may be over 2000 years in age. Read more.
• Pineapple (Ananas comosus) plants grow from 3 to almost 5 feet tall. New plants can be cultivated from the "offset" (an offset is a daughter plant naturally and asexually produced on the mother plant) at the top of the fruit. Pineapples were so named due to their resemblance to pine cones; "pineapple" was an early English name for pine cones. Read more.

Tidbits

• Propagation bench: The heat source beneath the propagation bench helps the plant cuttings to quickly develop roots.
• Chestnut vine (Tetrastigma voinierianum) is a member of the grape family and a native of northern Vietnam and Laos. Its claim to fame is sometimes being a host to the parasitic plant Rafflesia arnoldii, which produces the largest (about 1 meter in diameter) single flower in the world.
• Lantana (Lantana camara) is a native of Central and South America. Its brightly colored flowers make it popular in gardens; however, it has easily naturalized in many countries around the world where it outcompetes native plants and is considered an invasive species.
• Air plants (Tillandsia species) have no roots and take moisture into their leaves from moisture in the air.
• Urn plant (Aechmea fasciata): This bromeliad's leaf structure allows the collection of water in small pools within the center of the plant that can be hosts for tadpoles for various species of frogs.
• Tapeworm plant, ribbon plant (Homalocladium platycladum) stems grow in flat segments that can be propagated by breaking the segments apart.

(research room)

Must-see plants

• Carrion plant, starfish flower (Stapelia gigantea) is sometimes mistaken for a cactus, but it is a succulent. Its flowers reach up to 10 inches across and produce the distinctive odor of rotten flesh to attract pollinators. Read more.
• Konjac, devil's tongue (Amorphophallus konjac) is a relative of the much larger titan arum (corpse flower). Konjac's flowers produce the same scent of carrion to attract flies. Read more.

Tidbits

• Kohleria (Kohleria species): These gesneriads have brightly colored flowers as well as underground scaly rhizomes that can go dormant when growing conditions aren’t suitable.
• Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin) has been used in perfumery since ancient times and was traditionally used to repel moths from clothing during storage.
• Yacón (Polymnia sonchifolia) is grown for its sweet-tasting, tuberous roots that can be used to make a sugar substitute.

• Ponytail palm (Beaucarnia recurvata): This caudiciform stores water in its swollen trunk for survival during dry seasons in its native range of eastern Mexico. Despite its common name, it is not a true palm.
• Synadenium grantii rubra is a large, latex-producing, Euphorbia relative with colorful red markings on the leaves.
• Sea onion, climbing onion (Boweia volubilis) is a strange, bulblike structure with a wiry climbing stem. It is not related to onions in spite of the common name.
• Jade plant (Crassula ovata) can become a very thick-trunked shrub over time. It is commonly grown as a houseplant.
• Madagascar palm (Pachypodium lamerii) produces white, fragrant flowers and has a very spiny trunk with dark green leathery leaves. It is not a palm, as its common name suggests, but rather a member of the dogbane family Apocynaceae.

• Whisk fern (Psilotum nudum) has the strange distinction of having no roots or leaves as the stems produce chlorophyll and the plant reproduces by spores.
• Selaginella species are fern relatives that were once very popular during the Victorian era.
• Two-leaf water fern (Regnellidium diphyllum) is the single living species of its monotypic genus. It is sometimes grown in aquaria, and it is the only non-flowering plant that produces latex.
• Horsetail rush, scouring rush (Equisetum species): The Equisetum genus is the only living genus in Equisetaceae, a family of vascular plants that reproduce by spores rather than seeds. Species in the genus are considered living fossils, having once been much more abundant and diverse while dominating the understory of late Paleozoic forests.

Must-see plants

• Insectivorous (and sometimes carnivorous) plants often live in nutrient-poor habitats, so they rely on insects (and sometimes small vertebrates such as rats, lizards, and birds) for sustenance. Check out how the different species utilize their leaves to trap their unsuspecting prey. Read more.

Tidbits

• Christmas slippers (Seemannia sylvatica) is an African violet relative with very intensely colored orange-red flowers.
• African violets (Saintpaulia species) are native to Tanzania and Kenya in eastern tropical Africa. These fuzzy-leaved favorites have endured the test of time of hobby growing and are available in all sizes and most color combinations.
• Begonias (Begonia species) belong to a large family of plants noted for unique foliage and a wide range of diversity in appearance. More than 1800 species occur in the genus Begonia.
• Calamondin orange (Citrus mitis): Miniature fruits adorn this species that is highly fragrant when in flower.

Must-see plants

• Vanilla (Vanilla fragrans) vines are cultivated for the fruit commonly (but incorrectly) referred to as vanilla "beans. Vanilla farmers hand pollinate the flowers of cultivated vines to obtain a steady crop of "beans." Read more.

Tidbits

• Anthurium (Anthurium crystallinum): This epiphytic perennial is known for its ornamental foliage with white veining over the velvety textured, dark green leaves. It is native to the margins of Central and South American rainforests.
• Paphiopedilum callosum: This splendid orchid has checkerboard-patterned foliage and a colorful flower with a slipper-like pouch.
• Bo tree, sacred fig (Ficus religiosa) has a long lifespan—some specimens in its native habitats (India, Sri Lanka) having been living for more than 3000 years. It has religious significance in Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. Because it is considered sacred, followers often meditate under Ficus religiosa.
• Charles Grimaldi, Angel's trumpet (Brugmansia species): The vespertine (night blooming) flowers hang pendulously from the stems and emit a strong fragrance at night. All seven species are extinct in the wild.
• Philodendron sodiroi's silver leaves are so shiny they almost sparkle. This climbing species is a popular houseplant.

(research room)

Must-see plants

• Native plants bench: Bloomington Urban Woodlands Project (BUWP) propagates plants native to Indiana woodlands for reintroduction to Dunn's Woods on the IU Bloomington campus and Latimer Woods, a part of Bloomington's parks and trails system.

Tidbits

• Pelargonium, storksbills (Pelargonium species) are popular garden plants related to geraniums. Their flowers are long lasting and come in a variety of colors. The foliage has a strong fragrance.
• Easter cactus (Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri) is a widely cultivated epiphytic cactus with bright red flowers. Its common name is due to the fact that the plant flowers around the Easter holiday in the northern hemisphere.
• Queen of the night (Epiphyllum oxypetalum) is a jungle-dwelling cactus that blooms at night with large, white, fragrant flowers.
• Blood lily (Scadoxus multiflorus, formerly known as Haemanthus multiflorus) is a bulbous plant with straplike leaves and clusters of red star-like flowers. It's very toxic and has been used to make poison arrows, darts, and fishing toxins.

Must-see plants

• Chocolate tree (Theobroma cacao) is a native of the tropical Americas. Its flowers grow from the trunk and produce large seed pods. About 400 dried "beans" (seeds) are needed to make one pound of chocolate. Around 5 million tons of cocoa are produced annually. Read more.
• Dwarf banana (Musa nana, Musa acuminata) is one of the earliest plants domesticated by humans for agriculture. Many of the bananas produced for human consumption come from Musa nana. Read more.
• Arabian coffee, mountain coffee (Coffea arabica) produces 60 percent of the world's coffee. Because the fruits ripen at different times, they must be handpicked to obtain quality "beans" for roasting. Read more.

Tidbits

• Walking iris (Neomarica gracilis): This little beauty (also known as poor man's orchid) gets its walking moniker from the way it propagates: a new plantlet forms at the top of the flower stalk, gets heavy as it grows, bends the stalk to the ground, and takes root. In turn, the new plant matures and repeats the process—thus, appearing to "walk" across the landscape.

Must-see plants

• Titan arum, corpse flower (Amorphophallus titanum) has the largest unbranched inflorescence (cluster of flowers arranged on a single stalk or a branched stalk) in the world, reaching over 10 feet tall. It produces the odor of rotting flesh, luring flies and carrion-eating beetles for pollination—thus, its common name of corpse flower. Read more.
• Sandbox tree (Hura crepitans), native to North and South American tropics, is also called "monkey no-climb" because of the numerous dark spikes on the trunk. Other common names such as dynamite tree and monkey dinnerbell tree are attributed to its explosive fruit capsules that split open once the fruit ripens and launch their seeds at 160 mph.

Tidbits

• Giant spider lily (Crinum amabile): The flowers of this giant bulb are produced on 4- to 5-foot stalks and open in the evening hours. Its umbel of large, showy blooms makes this lily a prized plant among gardeners. Read more.
• Medusa orchid (Bulbophyllum medusae) is an ephiphytic orchid with white flower clusters resembling famed monster of Greek mythology Medusa's hairdo of snakes. About 15 flowers with long, thread-like lateral sepals are arranged in a circle at the tip of the flowering stem. Some liken the bloom's appearance to fireworks. It has an unpleasant odor. Read more.