Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam

🌸Possibly the cutest flowers in the entire Hortus right now🥹. Knopies (buttons), waterblasies (water blisters) or dumplings: this is Conophytum, a genus of succulent plants native to southern Namibia and the western and southern Cape Provinces of South Africa. They are now flowering in our nursery greenhouse and we think they`re IRRESISTBLE.

🤔In their natural habitat in tropical South America, Victoria flowers have a surprisingly elaborate way of getting pollinated.

When the flower opens in the evening, it can become much warmer than the surrounding air. This is called thermogenesis: the flower actually produces heat through its own respiration. But why bother? One reason is to attract its pollinators. The warmth also acts as a kind of energy-saving reward for the beetles that spend the night inside: when the white flower opens in the evening, it attracts beetles of the genus Cyclocephala with its colour, scent and warmth. Once they crawl inside, the flower closes around them - making sure they do their pollination job!

The first-night flower additionally produces a strong, fruity scent that has been described as smelling like pineapple or butterscotch. Together with the white colour and the heat, this scent helps advertise the flower to its beetle pollinators. 🌸🪲

A little throwback to one of our favourite seasons. 🍂
We`re already looking forward to mornings like these - with our beautiful Palm House glowing through the trees.💛

👀How many babies can you spot?
Quietly growing among the trees in our conifer garden is this 𝘞𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘢 fern.
Like other ferns, this species also produces spores on the underside of its leaves. So it has two ways to spread: cloning itself through baby plants and creating genetically diverse offspring through spores!
Did you know ferns could do this?👶🏻

🔮Out of the bare earth, the 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗺𝗻 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 (𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘮 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘦) suddenly sends up these delicate lilac flowers. Almost as if they’ve been conjured overnight!💜✨
The autumn crocus is sometimes called `naked boys` or `naked ladies`: because the flowers emerge from the ground long before the leaves appear.

Not ready for autumn yet? Neither are we. 🌿☔
While the rain pours outside, our tropical greenhouse is bursting with life, colour and jungle vibes. Your green escape is waiting!

If only Instagram had smell-o-vision… 👃🌿
🤔❓Why do some plants smell so good when you rub their leaves?
Plants use smell as a form of communication. Their scents come from volatile compounds and essential oils: they do this to attract pollinators and repel predators.
When you gently rub the leaf, you release some of these compounds - and suddenly your fingers smell like mint, basil, lavender or even apple! 🍃
However, what smells delicious to us might be a very effective “please don’t eat me” message to someone else. 😏

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Had Instagram maar geurtelevisie… 👃🌿
🤔❓Waarom ruiken sommige planten zo lekker als je over hun bladeren wrijft?
Planten gebruiken geur als een vorm van communicatie. Hun geuren komen voort uit vluchtige stoffen en etherische oliën: ze doen dit om bestuivers aan te trekken en vijanden af te schrikken.
Als je zachtjes over het blad wrijft, komen sommige van deze stoffen vrij – en ineens ruiken je vingers naar munt, basilicum, lavendel of zelfs appel! 🍃
Maar wat voor ons heerlijk ruikt, kan voor iemand anders een heel effectieve boodschap zijn: ‘eet me alsjeblieft niet op’. 😏