greenhouse

Greenhouse Facility

The Department of Biology has a ca. 1968 Lord and Burham steel- and glass-constructed 2400 ft2 greenhouse of four rooms, upgraded and maintained by Facilities Services.

The structure houses more than 100 different plant species originating from a variety of habitats including temperate, aquatic, desert and tropical environments, including the familiar and foreign, benign and bizarre, such as the tiny yet highly invasive mosquito-fern Azolla caroliniana which partners with blue-green algae to harvest nitrogen from the air, the beautiful Bowring’s cattleya orchid (Cattleya bowringiana) ,

the weird and wicked-spined Madagascar palm (Pachypodium lamerei) and the malodorous yet majestic carrion flower (Stapelia hirsuta). Although these plants are used for both teaching and research purposes, the facility is also a favorite spot for visitors who are intrigued by the beauty and aesthetics that this immense variety of plants offers.

Undergraduate students work in the facility and receive hands-on experience in the culture and maintenance of plants. Members of Tri-Beta, the Biological Honor Society, work to support the annual plant sale, which provides funding for philanthropical and educational activities sponsored by their organization. During late spring 2007, the Department of Biology Greenhouse will be managed by a full time plant research specialist and open to visitors. Watch us grow!

Carrion Flower Photo (right) courtesy of Forrest Croce.

Contact:

Greenhouse Direct

BS-111 Howell Science Complex

(252) 328-1832

or

Dr. Claudia L. Jolls (supervisor)

BS-107A Howell Science Complex

(252) 328-6295

jollsc@ecu.edu