After a five-year restoration, Kew Botanic Gardens will throw open the doors of its spectacular Temperate House, the world’s largest Victorian greenhouse, on May 5 2018. Around 10,000 endangered and rare plants, some original specimens and some newly propagated, form the display
A unique collection of plants
The glasshouse will house 1,500 different species of temperate plants, including some of the worlds rarest. These include the South African cycad Encephalartos woodii. Only one specimen of this cycad has been found growing in the wild, and has long since disappeared. Today, this cycad (of which there are only males) is found exclusively in botanic gardens and private collections around the world.
With the global challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and food security, these important plant collections will highlight Kew’s role in safeguarding rare and threatened plants from extinction.
Temperate House facts
Designed by Decimus Burton, who also designed the Palm House at Kew
Built in 1860 and opened in 1863, the entire construction took nearly 40 years to complete
Covers 4,880 square metres, twice the size of the Palm House
The glasshouse sits on a 1.8 metre high mound of gravel and sand, the spoil from Kew's Lake
Home to temperate plants from Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific Islands
Temperate House
The Temperate House is central to expanding our knowledge of a huge range of species, and helping Kew lead the world in global plant science and conservation.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond TW9 3AE (020 8332 5655; kew.org)
Exotic Earth Plants
We hold a growing private collection of Brugmansia (Angel Trumpet Plants) and are growing a collection of native Brugmansia species as listed by the IUCN Red List of endagered species. All seven Brugmansia variants are listed as extinct in the wild by the IUCN Red List. Please visit our Brugmansia page for more information on this plant species.
https://www.exoticearthplants.co.uk/brugmansia