Visit the biology greenhouse

Our principal activities include the culturing of plant lines for research projects and caring for a variety of plant specimens available to University of Iowa students. We also supply plant materials and growing space for studies and experiments in courses taught by department faculty.

The general collection is comprised of over 150 plant species of diverse origins. These include specimens representing some main evolutionary lines in the bryophytes and also in the vascular land plants. The latter group includes evolutionary grades such as free-sporing plants, gymnosperms, and angiosperms.

Our plant collections consist of various species with interesting biological aspects such as rapid leaf movement in Mimosa pudica; insectivory in Nepenthes, Sarracenia, Pinguicula, and Drosera; hydrophytic adaptations in Eichornia and Pistia; and xerophytic adaptations in the cacti and other succulents.

We also house a selection of economically important plants including coffee (Coffea), cocoa (Theobroma), banana (Musa), and pineapple (Ananas).