The miracle world of the dome greenhouse: plants from all over the world in Düsseldorf!

The miracle world of the dome greenhouse: plants from all over the world in Düsseldorf!

Düsseldorf, Deutschland - The dome greenhouse of the Heinrich Heine University (HHU) in Düsseldorf is an impressive example of modern architecture and plant variety. Since its completion in 1975, it has been a central component of the university's botanical garden and is a striking building with a height of 18 meters and a floor space of around 1,000 square meters. The exterior view impresses with a yellow grid frame, which consists of 630 triangles and triangular plexiglass panes. In addition, 92 windows can be opened for effective ventilation, which meets the special requirements of the plants cultivated here.

The building, designed by the Technical University of Darmstadt, is designed as a "cold house" and specially designed for the Mediterranean climate. This enables the accommodation of a variety of plants from various geographical regions, including the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands, Oceania, Asia and America. Particularly noteworthy plants include the New Zealand Warfish (Podocarpus Dacrydioides), which may be the only male copy in Europe, and the endangered New Zealand Kauri Baumart (Agathis Austria).

The variety of plants and its special features

In the dome greenhouse there are other extraordinary plants. The Australian woolemia (Wollemia Nobilis) is not only cultivated here, but also successfully increased. The entrance areas are peppered with colorful highlights: snack heads (echo) show over a meter high inflorescences, while the Puya Venusta shines in purple flowers. A special attraction is the sacred flower of the Incas (Cantua Buxifolia) with its magenta -colored flowers that captivate visitors.

Additional plants that thrive in the dome greenhouse are the Schön shrub (Calothamnus Quadrifidus subsp. Asper), St. John's wort (hypericum) with bright yellow flowers and the eucalyptus (Eucalyptus Petiolaris). Another highlight are the stable leaves of the New Zealand flax (Phormium Tenax) and the red inflorescences of the red horse chestnut (Aesculus X Carnea 'Briotii'). On the facade of the greenhouse, succulents, including the California poppy seeds (Eschscholzia Californica) with its different color variants, invite you to get closer.

botanical garden as an educational and recreation center

The HHU's botanical garden was opened in 1979 and includes an area of ​​approx. 8 hectares. In addition to recovery, it serves as an educational institution and is an important place for research and teaching in biology and pharmacy. Every year the garden attracts around 100,000 visitors who not only enjoy the variety of plants, but can also take part in a diverse lecture and management program. An additional service is the free audio guide that is available in German and English.

The facilities of the botanical garden have been expanded several times, including the construction of an orangery as well as a South Africa house and a research greenhouse complex in 2004 and 2008. High-modern research greenhouses on the roof of the biology new building contribute to the preservation of threatened species, such as woolemia. In addition, the garden trains up to ten gardeners in the "perennial nursery", supported by the Freundeskreis Botanisches Garden of HHU e.V.

opening times vary depending on the season: from November to the end of February the garden is open from Monday to Friday to 4:00 p.m.; From March and October daily until 6 p.m. and from April to September to 7:00 p.m.

While the dome greenhouse in Düsseldorf is an outstanding example of botanical facilities, it also serves as part of a larger network of public botanical gardens. These gardens, as described on botanische-gaerten.de , contribute to recovery and preservation of biodiversity and are home to valuable plants.