-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
- kriesnendu houly on Amorphophallus konjac: Can You Resist the Lure of the Devil’s Tongue?
- kriesnendu houly on Amorphophallus konjac: Can You Resist the Lure of the Devil’s Tongue?
- Zoe Cooke on Arachis glabrata – Perennial Peanut
- Alexander Gavin on Catharanthus roseus – Cancer fighting
- Edward Ofori on Catharanthus roseus – Cancer fighting
Categories
Meta
Activity
- Africa
- Americas
- Annual Fund
- Asia
- Australia
- Carnivorous Plants
- Collaborators
- Compost
- Countries
- Crops
- Design
- Evolution
- Ferns
- Fish
- Hands-on
- Integrated Pest Management
- Interactive
- Labelling
- Learning and Teaching
- Low Nutrient Environments
- Lycopodiophyta
- Madagascar
- Meeting
- Mexico
- Monocots
- Neotropics
- Palaeotropics
- People
- Philippines
- Planning
- Pond
- Primary Schools
- Public
- School Visits
- Secondary Schools
- Species
- Staff
- Students
- Technology
- Uncategorized
- Water Plants
Archives
Blogroll
Author Archives: Alastair Culham
What’s that when it’s at home?
Every day we eat our fresh fruit and vegetables to stay healthy but how often do you think about where they have come from or what plant they grow on?
Posted in Uncategorized
Leave a comment
84th Reading Beavers – Saving the environment!
On Friday evening we had the pleasure of hosting a keen and vibrant group of Beavers from the local 84th group along with their leaders and parent helpers. While the emphasis was very much on look and experience the exciting … Continue reading
Posted in Hands-on, Interactive, Learning and Teaching, Public
Tagged 84th Reading Beavers
Leave a comment
The Nigerian Field Society
On Saturday 4th July we welcomed the Nigerian Field Society UK branch to the Tropical Glasshouse. This was an especially interesting visit for me because many of the visitors had far more experience of tropical biodiversity, and particularly tropical botany … Continue reading
Posted in Africa, Annual Fund, Meeting, People
Tagged Banana breeding, MSc Plant Diversity, Nigerian Field Society, University of Ibadan
Leave a comment
A Multidimensional Greek Wedding
In March 2012 Kalman and Maria were helping prepare the tropical glasshouse for complete re-planting. There was heavy digging to do while we mixed 4-5 tonnes of home produced compost for filling the glasshouse beds and some photography which involved … Continue reading
Ranikhet Primary School – a rainforest experience
Today pupils from Ranikhet Primary School visited the Tropical Biodiversity Greenhouse (Part of Reading University Herbarium in the School of Biological Sciences) to see, smell, touch and draw plants that grow in the tropics, and particularly the tropical rainforest. Two … Continue reading
1st Whiteknights Brownies
We hosted a visit from the 1st Whiteknights Brownies this evening in a very warm and humid tropical atmosphere. Over an hour we toured the world of plants asking questions such as ‘What eats chilli peppers and why?’, ‘how do … Continue reading
University librarians enjoy the Dew(e)y atmosphere
At 9am sharp today the tropical glasshouse was invaded by a hush of Librarians. Led by the intrepid Helen Hathway (Head of Academic Liaison and Support) and guided by our biology subject specialist Tim Chapman more than 20 members of … Continue reading
Posted in Hands-on, Interactive, Learning and Teaching, Staff
Tagged Helen Hathaway, Julia Munro, Tim Chapman
Leave a comment
A visit from 71st Beavers
Monday afternoon was grey, cold and wet but the Reading 71st Beavers and their helpers braved the weather to walk to our tropical glasshouse. Thick coats were soon shed and the children had a chance to look around and interact … Continue reading
Posted in Hands-on, Learning and Teaching, Public
Leave a comment
Dendrochilum filiforme Lindl.
This diminutive orchid is commonly known as the Golden Chain Orchid, a name it shares with a few close relatives. The plant in our glasshouse was donated by a keen plantsman who grows a range of exotic species and is … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, Philippines, Species
Tagged Dendrochilum, Glasshouse orchids, Golden Chain Orchid, Hugh Cuming, John Lindley, Orchids
Leave a comment
More on bananas
We grow two types of banana in the tropical glasshouse, the pink, seed containing, Musa dasycarpa, and the much larger edible banana with small yellow seedless fruit for which we do not know the cultivar.
Posted in Africa, Crops
Leave a comment