McMaster Biology Greenhouse

Same flower 1 day later with anthers and stamen now sticking out (exserted) from the narrow tubular flower, increasing pollination success by hummingbirds and decreasing access to nectar and pollen by bees.

Tillandsia in bloom. The colour is a full plant performance with the purple flowers, the pink bracts, and some 'blushing ' on the leaves. This kind of inflorescence with brightly colored bracts and contrasting flowers attracts hummingbirds as pollinators.

Our titan arum Erra has been dormant for about 3 months. We dug up the corm for a repot and found new roots and a new bud. We expect another leaf given the small size of the corm.

A few more details to finish on the new greenhouse and then we will exit the old greenhouse. Until then, the desert rose is very happy this year.

One of our aloe plants is in bloom! The upside-down flowers, and external anthers and stigmas, make nectivorous birds ideal pollinators for these flowers. The nectivorous birds in the native range of Aloes, Africa and the Arabian peninsula, are sunbirds that perch on plants, unlike the hummingbirds of the Americas that can hover. While the birds are perched, drinking the nectar from the flowers, the feathers on their head rub against the anthers and stigmas collecting and depositing pollen.

Much of plant research involves manipulating the environment and letting the plants tell us what is important to them. In the new Biology Greenhouse, the environment of each of these research rooms can be individually controlled.

Harvesting tree fern spores, thanks to for the discarded leaves.

Here's the view walking over the bridge into the new first floor atrium of the Life Science Building. We are looking down into the biodiversity greenhouse. Just add plants and soil!

Walk through the new main door to the Life Science Building and you will be on a bridge looking down into the greenhouses and across at the tree canopy.

Where should we put the cacao tree? The fan palm? The titan arums? So many amazing plants, so many decisions to make.

Not yet completed, the dedicated research greenhouses at the new McMaster Biology Greenhouse are at the south side. The shorter greenhouse at the left is for smaller studies that need excellent environmental control. The taller, sawtooth greenhouses at the back are for larger studies that can be done with good environmental control. We can just admire them from outside for now.

Over the weekend one of our passion flower plants bloomed! This gorgeous vining plant has tendrils that can be seen in the bottom middle of the photo. Tendrils are specialized plant structures that are sensitive to contact. Once they make contact with a nearby object, they coil around it to help to anchor the plant while it is climbing.