960 



PARKS 



subtropical plants of special economic importance is 

 housed in this conservatory. In the assortment are 

 plants which produce rubber, oils, perfumes, fiber, 

 spices, drugs, woods, dyes, coffee, tea, pepper, guava, 

 loquat, jasmine, ginger and patchouli. The vestibule 

 of this house contains a group of the so-called "sensi- 

 tive" and "telegraph" plants. 



Cycad house. Arranged in Japanese style, this con- 

 servatory serves admirably as a display house for the 

 representatives of all known genera of cycads, includ- 

 ing forty species. The well-known Kafir bread and a 

 very interesting genus, Bowenia, with fern-like foliage 

 and lack of aerial stem are a part of the collection. 

 Araucaria, Hakea, Eucalyptus, Taxodium, and other 

 tropical evergreens add the desired touch to the house. 



Succulent house. The arrangement in this house rep- 

 resents desert conditions under which the agaves (cen- 

 tury plants), aloes, euphorbias, yuccas, cacti, and other 

 closely related plants grow to perfection. Among the 

 commoner plants are the night-blooming cereus, the 

 giant cereus, the fish poison tree, Adam's needle, the 

 hedgehog cactus, ice plant, sisal hemp and pulque 

 plant. 



Fern house. Upon the banks of a stream which flows 

 through this house are grown numerous species of ferns 

 and their allies. From the bridge which arches the 

 ravine a good view of the entire collection may be ob- 

 tained, and passing underneath this bridge through a 

 grotto is a path which enables one to see at close range 

 the plants viewed from above. The Boston ferns, 

 bird's-nest fern, maidenhair fern, and climbing fern are 

 some of the widely known representatives of the fern 

 group in this house. 



MAIN GREENHOUSE RANGE 



Floral display house. One end of this large conserva- 

 tory is occupied by a banana dome, while the rest of 

 the house is devoted to a series of floral displays. The 

 most popular of these is the chrysanthemum show in 

 the fall, which is followed by exhibits of orchids, poin- 

 settias, bulbous plants, primroses, cyclamens, azaleas, 

 rhododendrons, roses, calceolarias, hydrangeas, glox- 

 inias, tuberous begonias, fancy-leaved caladiums, etc., 

 the design changing with the exhibit. 



Aroid house. Leading down a flight of stairs from the 

 floral display house is an artistically arranged conserva- 

 tory, accommodating a collection of epiphytes and ter- 

 restrial aroid plants. Indian ginger (Alpinia nutans), 

 Monstera, rattlesnake plant (Calathea Crotalifera), 

 dumb-cane and others are grouped around a waterfall 

 and its connecting series of pools, and hanging over the 

 pools are numerous pitcher plants. Upon the north 

 side of the house four alcoves are devoted to a display 

 of aquatic plants, shown in aquaria containing tropical 

 and native fish. Here also are to be found blooming 



orchids when the annual orchid show is not staged ir 

 the floral display house. 



Tropical fruit house. This house contains citrus fruits 

 (orange, lemon, pomelo, kumquat in variety), papaw,. 

 mango, mangosteen, alligator pear, Japanese persim- 

 mon, sapodillo plum. 



Bromeliad house. The pineapple and its relatives 

 compose the chief display in this house, and Spanish 

 moss, epiphytic upon trees in Florida, is grown abun- 

 dantly. Interesting features to be seen here are the 

 vanilla plant, trained upon a trellis at one end, and the 

 goose plant, which when in bloom during the summer 

 attracts numerous carrion flies by its peculiar odor. 



Forced fruit house. The central panel of the house is 

 devoted to peaches, nectarines, cherries and other fruit,, 

 trained upon espaliers. Along the sides are planted 

 various types of forcing grapes, covering the sides and 

 the roof of the house. 



Orchid growing houses (not open to the public). Owing 

 to the peculiar culture requirements of orchids, the con- 

 struction of these special houses was necessitated to- 

 accommodate the thousand representative species from 

 all parts of the world. The collection is particularly 

 rich in Vanda, Cypripedium, Epidendrum (which fur- 

 nish the main orchid displays), and of common interest 

 are Cattleya orchids, lady slipper, star of Bethlehem,, 

 bucket, dove, moth, nun, butterfly, spider, braided and 

 monkshood. The collection has been made the peer of 

 any in this country through the donation by the late 

 D. S. Brown of Kirkwood, Mo., of many rare types,, 

 and the result of the recent expedition to South 

 America for orchids. 



LINN^EAN HOUSE 



The only greenhouse remaining which was built dur- 

 ing Mr. Shaw's lifetime, and so named because of the 

 bust of Linnaeus placed over the main doorway, has. 

 been converted now into an ericaceous and coniferous 

 house. Along the banks of the dell are planted azaleas, 

 camellias, ericas, kalmias and rhododendrons, as well 

 as numerous cone-bearing trees. The central feature is 

 rocky ledge from which a spring issues, the structure 

 being surmounted by an overhanging rock and stump 

 of a tree. 



The Missouri Botanical Garden comprises about 

 seventy-five acres. It was opened to the public by Mr. 

 Henry Shaw about 1860. From that date until the 

 death of Mr. Shaw in 1889, the garden was maintained 

 under the personal direction of its founder, and while 

 virtually a private garden, it was, except at certain 

 stated times, always open to the public. By a provision 

 of Mr. Shaw's will, the garden passed at his death into 

 the hands of a board of trustees and has continued to 

 this day (1927) under this form of government. 



