It's a long walk to the Murdough greenhouse on the fifth floor of Gilman. You can't get there via the front steps. And yet students, faculty and other people looking for a break visit it all the time.
"It's still 80 degrees, 80 percent humidity and sunny in the dead of winter," said Lisa Palmer, Greenhouse manager and curator. "People come and study and eat lunch up here ... it's just a nice place."
The greenhouse itself was built in 1964 with the rest of Gilman. It replaced the Clement greenhouse, whose bronze dedication plaque still hangs on the wall here.
The crown jewel of the greenhouse came much later when Alan Brout '51 donated his extensive collection of orchids in 1996.
The Brout Orchid Collection contains many award winning plants and has "by far the largest diversity in New England," said Palmer. The plants vary from a 15-foot-long vanilla vine to the lepanthes, whose flowers must be viewed under a dissecting microscope. Palmer admitted that she was especially interested in miniature orchids, partly due to space confines.
"We're totally out of space," she said.
When choosing plants, Palmer follows three criteria. First, she tries to have "as broad a collection of plant families as possible" -- something that is well accomplished with over 200 families and 3,500 species.
Her second goal is to find plants with unusual form and structure, such as the pitcher plant, whose elongated leaves form a watertight caraffe.
Thirdly, Palmer strives for "shear beauty" in plants. Her success is evident in the abundance colorful flowers wherever the eye looks.
Inside the greenhouse itself, foliage surrounds the visitor. Plants adorn shelves and the floor, hanging from the ceiling and even the walls. A miniature stream runs in one of the rooms with chairs nearby for visitors. A glance in some of the hydroponics pools reveals swarms of tiny fish which swim to the surface, looking for food.
The climate changes every few steps as one wanders through the rooms. From tropical to subtropical and desert, everything is carefully controlled to ensure the health of the plants. But not everything is run by computers. The staff uses biological control techniques to prevent outbreaks. Beneficial insects, along with predators, have set up a balanced ecosystem among the plants that also allows for population ecology study.
Research is a big part of the work of the greenhouse. Four of the six bays are dedicated to classes and graduate student's studies. Projects vary from a study of invasive knappweed to a study involving tadpoles.
All of the plants are labeled with their scientific names but a look on the other side of the cards reveals Camellia sinensis to be nothing more intimidating than the tea plant.
The greenhouse was not originally designed as a public space, which has created some difficulties as the purpose of the greenhouse has evolved. Palmer regularly leads tours for various people from professional botanists to second-graders.
The greenhouse's greatest challenge, according to Palmer, is to make the place more welcoming. A quick glance in the guestbook reveals her success. "Thanks for the beauty; I like the goldfish; Great place to relax;" and "Beautiful!" are among the comments written.
The greenhouse is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
