Aquatic House in the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, Nov. 2006

Steinhardt Conservatory: Aquatic House and Orchid Collection

To the right of the Trail of Evolution is the Robert W. Wilson Aquatic House. It measures 81 feet by 31 feet.

Two pools are the centerpieces of the house. The large, shallow pool features a variety of tropical and subtropical aquatic plants from around the world displayed in a naturalistic swamp environment. Its emphasis is on demonstrating the range of physical adaptations plants have made to live in, on, and near water. Plants include mangroves, papyrus, water hyacinth, numerous aroids, and the giant Victoria water platter.

The deep pool, or paludarium, displays many other plants of aquatic and wet environments. Treeferns, mosses, orchids, and an epiphyte tree stand above exposed rockwork, while waterfalls cascade into the six-foot-deep pool. Plants growing in and around the pool highlight the diversity of the world's submerged and emergent flora. Visitors can view these plants from above or from windows situated at the base of the pool.

In addition to the pools, two special plant cases are built into the east wall of the house. One case features a display of insectivorous plants, including pitcher plants and venus fly-traps. The other houses rotating displays from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's extensive orchid collection (see "The Orchid Collection").

Hanging from racks around the perimeter of the Aquatic House are numerous orchids, staghorn ferns, and other epiphytes.

Text from: www.bbg.org/exp/stroll/conservatory_aquatic.html