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Steinhardt Conservatory: Warm Temperate Pavilion

Puya Berteroniana Blooms
June 2007 saw the rare and
unforgettable inflorescence of one of
BBG's Puya berteroniana plants. This
plant hadn't bloomed in 8 years!

The Helen Mattin Warm Temperate Pavilion rises to a height of 45 feet and includes 3,000 square feet under glass. It houses trees, shrubs, vines, bulbs, and ground covers that represent the diversity of plant life in warm temperate regions around the world. There, the climate is characterized by cool, wet winters and hot, dry, droughty summers. The temperature range in winter is generally between 45 and 55 degrees Fahrenheit. In the summer, it rises to between 70 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Frost is rare, and fog occurs along western coastlines.

Photograph of the Warm Temperate Pavilion

Warm temperate climates are found in the following regions and countries: The Mediterranean Basin; South Africa; Australia; New Zealand; Eastern Asia; western coastal regions of North America (mainly California); and western coastal regions of South America (mainly Chile).

Plants in these climate zones have special adaptations that allow them to survive seasonally harsh conditions, especially drought, and in some cases, fire. Here are some features to look out for: small, fine leaves, which help decrease transpiration and conserve water; hairy leaves, which accomplish the same job and capture water droplets from fog; silver leaves, which reflect solar radiation; and shrubby stature, due to regular recovery from burning. There are other adaptations that you won't see, notably the underground features of geophytic plants, which die back in the drought season and draw on the food reserves in their corms, rhizomes, tubers, or bulbs.

Here are some must-see plants in the Warm Temperate Pavilion: the extremely rare Wollemi pine; the agriculturally important olive tree from the Mediterranean region; the very distinctive bunya-bunya tree of northeastern Australia; and BBG's special collection of South African bulbs and other warm temperate geophytes, which bloom from late winter to early spring.

Scarlet plume and Loropetalum chinense

LEFT: Scarlet plume (Euphorbia fulgens); RIGHT: Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum 'Blush'

Fact Sheet: South African Geophytes

  • Geophytes are plants that grow from underground storage organs such as bulbs, corms, or tubers.
  • South African geophytes are a diverse population of plants native to the southwest coastal area of South Africa, called the Cape Floral Region.
  • The BBG South African Geophyte collection is in bloom from mid-February until the beginning of April. It is comprised of over 100 different species representing around 25 genera. Four different plant families are represented: Amaryllidaceae, Hycinthacaea, Iridacaeae, and Alliaceae. The bulbs are not forced; they would be blooming in late winter and early spring in their own hemisphere.

Map of the Garden

The Steinhardt Conservatory is indicated by the orange box. Click on the map to visit other locations in the Garden, or click here to view a larger map.

Key Map of the Steinhardt Conservatory

Discovery Garden Children's Garden Lily Pool Terrace Steinhardt Conservatory Perennial Border Rock Garden Plant Family Collection Annual Border Bluebell Wood Crape-Myrtle Lilac Cranford Rose Garden Cranford Rose Garden Home Composting Exhibit Native Flora Garden Osborne Garden The Overlook Cherry Esplanade herb Garden Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden Celebrity Path Shakespeare Garden Fragrance Garden Magnolia Plaza Daffodil Hill