Gesneriads at the Missouri Botanical Garden

The Missouri Botanical Garden is one of the most well-kept botanical gardens in the US with premier plant collections and one of the best non-university botanical research institutions in the world. To me, the best feature of the garden is the Climatron, a futuristically designed greenhouse that encloses a very nice collection of plants.

I recently visited family in St. Louis and one of the must visit places is the botanical garden. This time, I kept my eyes open for gesneriads. This is a shot (not of gesneriads) but still a pretty view from the inside looking up. The plant is Clerodendron splendens.

 A prominent and beautiful feature in the garden is a large rock from which a waterfall pours from above. Visitors walk beneath part of the rock and be greeted by the sounds of rushing water, feel the cool mist, and a beautiful vine of an Aeschynanthus species hanging from above.

This vine seems to be in perpetual bloom, no matter what time of year I visit! 

Seemannia sylvatica hanging off a rock as they would in their natural habitat. How cool!

A closeup of Seemannia sylvatica.

 An unknown species of Nematanthus. I wonder what it is?!

Aeschinanthus 'Greensleeves'. It look me a while to find this plant because it was hidden behind a bunch of other plants. I suppose since it isn't a species, they did not want to display it prominently.

Looking right into the face of Aeschynanthus 'Greensleeves'.

Well folks, there you have it! While it was nice to see these gesneriads in the Climatron, I don't quite understand why more gesneriads are not featured. They would be so easily maintained in greenhouse conditions such as these and would thrive. Note to botanical gardens out there: add more cool gesneriads to your collection!

Guest blogger

Nhu Nguyen

Greetings from the wild!

It's not often that a person gets to go see gesneriads in the wild, but if one does, it's pretty cool. About a decade ago, I was doing some research on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. The island was once the top of a mountain, and when the Panama Canal was dug, the area was dammed to create Lake Gatun. All the lower lying areas were flooded but the top of the mountain that we know as Barro Colorado Island today remained. The whole island is a research site for the Smithsonian Institution and many scientists visit the island each year to study this lush tropical ecosystem.

Mind you, back when I was visiting, I wasn't a gesnerophile, but rather a mycologist studying the yeasts that live in the gut of beetles. But my inner gesnerophile (even before I knew I was one) shone through as I could not get over the amazing plants that grew on the walls of one of the mostly abandoned buildings at the main research station. I didn't even know that the plant was a gesneriad, but recently when I saw it in a show, I realized that the plant I saw about a decade ago was Chrysothemis friedrichsthaliana.

This species doesn't seem to be in cultivation. Had I had my eyes out for cool plants back then, I could have attempted to bring this one back. Oh well, next time.

Nhu Nguyen

Guest blogger