Page 7 - Tropical glasshouses
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6 Mysore trumpetvine Thunbergia mysorensis
You may be familiar with ‘Black-Eyed Susan’ as a garden plant or house- plant; the Mysore trumpetine is a tropical member of the same family. The plant produces shoots approxi- mately 10 metres (33 feet) in length. It is pollinated in the wild by small birds called Cebu owerpeckers, attracted by drops of nectar in
the owers.
7 Teak tree Tectona grandis The framework of this glasshouse
is made of teak. This deciduous tree can grow to a height of 50 metres (165 feet) in the wild. From the canopy walk you can see plants growing into the tree. These are ‘epiphytes’; they make use of the trees to climb towards the light, but do not draw nutrients from them.
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