NY Botanical Garden Presents 'A World of Plants'

Plants are essential to life on Earth, providing oxygen, filtering water, creating habitats, and supplying food, fuel, medicine, and shelter. A World of Plants showcases more than 3,000 species of plants found around the globe, from Africa to the Americas, all presented within 9 of the 11 glasshouse galleries of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, the largest Victorian-era glasshouse in the United States.

One minute you're in the desert, the next you are immersed in a tropical rain forest, and a few moments later you are studying carnivorous plants in this ecotour of the world's flora complemented by collections of tropical palms, ferns, cacti, aquatic plants, vines, and more.

Enter this permanent exhibition through the Palms of the Americas Gallery and its largest collection of New World palms anywhere under glass. Then travel on through four distinct environments: the Lowland Tropical Rain Forest, the Upland Tropical Rain Forest, the Deserts of the Americas, and the Deserts of Africa. Along the way, encounter diverse, intriguing, strange, and beautiful plants.

Interpretive signage and cell phone, audio, and docent-led tours tell you about the interrelationships among the species, the way climate affects the evolution of plant life, and the interaction of plants with animal species, including humans.

As you stroll from gallery to gallery and environment to environment, learn about the practices of traditional healers in the rain forest of Belize; find out how palm trees serve countless economic uses in Brazil; encounter the defenses of "armed and dangerous" desert plants from the American Southwest and arid regions of Africa. It is an eye-opening journey around the world.

Adults: $6
Adult Bronx residents: $5
Seniors: $3
Students with valid ID: $3
Children (2-12): $1
Infants (under 2): Free

Grounds admission is free to everyone all day Wednesdays and on Saturdays from 10 a.m.-12 p.m.

New York Botanical Garden
(718) 817-8700
200th Street and Kazimiroff Blvd.,
Bronx, NY

For more information, visit www.nybg.org