February 3, 2003

Discover more than 3,000 species of plants, representing two-thirds of all the plant families in the world, during weekend tours of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Greenhouses this spring.

Tours will be offered at 2 p.m. on Sundays Feb. 9, March 2, March 16, March 30, April 13, and April 27.

The greenhouses, which provide resources for research, teaching, and service at the University, shelter one of the most diverse collections of living plants in the northeast.

Each tour is led by a UConn scientist who will discuss growth, habitat, pollination, and plant adaptations in these live specimens, as well as their economic significance.

The specimens include orchids that look like insects, plants that look like rocks, ferns and cacti taller than humans, Indian medicinal plants, cotton, tropical food plants such as cassava, papaya, tea, cocoa, vanilla, banana, and coffee, insect-digesting carnivorous plants, papyrus, teosinte, and tropical flowers.

The greenhouses are located behind the Torrey Life Sciences Building, 75 N. Eagleville Road, Storrs.

The tours are sponsored by the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History. Registration must be made in advance, including payment; fees are: $5 per Museum member, $10 per nonmember. For information, call 860.486.4460.

The Museum also arranges guided tours on weekdays and weekends by prior arrangement, for a fee.

Data on the plants in the greenhouses may be found at: www.mnh.uconn.ed u - click on Collections and go to greenhouse; or via the ecology and evolutionary biology department website: florawww.eeb.uconn.edu.