Plants in a Modern Zoo
Plants make the Zoo a beautiful place and you will find them used in many different ways. Some are grown for their colourful flowers, others for their attractive bark, fruits, or leaf shapes.
Plants also serve other functions, acting as windbreaks, disguising buildings or structures, or by providing welcome shade in the heat of summer. The gardens provide colourful and attractive displays and there are always new horticultural developments which we are sure you will enjoy visiting.
Modern zoos are beginning to look at plants in other ways. We are endeavouring to create plantings that reflect the animals’ natural habitat, whether it is tropical rainforest, savannah grassland, wetlands or deserts. Of course, in many cases, it will not be possible to grow the actual plants that come from the plains of Africa or the Amazon rain forest. In these instances plants are used that are similar in appearance to the real thing.
Animals rely totally on plants for their survival for food, shelter or for nesting. Equally plants often rely on animals for pollination and seed dispersal. It is this interdependence of plants and animals that we seek to show within the Zoo.
Plant conservation in the wild is of vital importance. If we do not conserve the forests, grasslands, wetlands and deserts then the number of species of plants and animals that face extinction will rapidly increase. The number of rare and endangered plant species, native and foreign, grown in the Zoo has gradually increased in an effort to conserve these plants in cultivation. The Zoo supports a large number of UK and overseas conservation projects to save species and habitats that protect both plants and animals.
As well as the outdoor exhibits there are wonderful indoor plants to admire. Immerse yourself in the Tropical Realm, surrounded by stately palms and Ficus trees, while enjoying the colourful free flying birds. Or take a walk in the Papua New Guinea rainforest in the Islands in Danger exhibit. The Spirit of the Jaguar House shows plants that reflect savannah grassland habitats as well as tropical rainforest. We are sure that you will take many happy memories of the animals with you, but we also hope you will also leave with equally fond memories of the plants and perhaps a deeper appreciation of how totally dependant we are on them in our everyday lives.