Plant Palace (Plantenpaleis), Meise Botanic Garden

A large part of our collections do not thrive in our climate. That is why the Plant Palace was built. It is one of the largest and most beautiful publicly accessible greenhouse complexes in Europe.
The many thousands of plant species are planted according to their biome, the large vegetation zones of the earth with their typical climate.
During your walk through the greenhouses you will discover plants from the desert, the savannah, the tropical rainforest,... and how they have adapted to their living conditions. Or you sniff the scents in the Mediterranean biome. One of the greenhouses is dedicated to human influence. The evolution greenhouse takes you through time and tells you how land plants have evolved, from millions of years ago to now.
(Botanical Garden Meise)

The greenhouse complex "Het Plantenpaleis - de Victoriakas" is the largest and one of the most beautiful in Europe. The Plantenpaleis alone covers approximately 1 hectare.
Highlights under glass:
Our most infamous plant is perhaps the giant arum (Amorphophallus titanum). When it blooms, it forms an inflorescence reaching 1.5 to sometimes over 3 meters tall, making it the largest unbranched inflorescence of any plant. The bloom lasts only a few days, so it's crucial to catch it at the right time. Amorphophallus titanum grows wild only in the rainforests of Sumatra. The flowering plants exude the odor of rotting flesh, which attracts pollinating insects.
In the Tropical Wetlands greenhouse at the Plantenpaleis, the giant water lilies in the pond immediately catch the eye. Victoria cruziana has large, floating leaves with raised edges. The air in and between the ribs at the base of the leaf creates enormous buoyancy: it can support up to 40 kilos. During the summer, the leaves are typically between one and two meters in diameter. Annual photo shoots of babies on the leaves of the giant water lily are held at this time.
The giant water lilies have been cultivated in the Botanical Garden for over a hundred years. From the end of September onwards, the leaves die back. The pond is empty in winter. In February, we sow new plants so that they will have leaves again in spring.
In the Tropical Rainforest greenhouse of the Plant Palace, you'll encounter the Laurent palm fern (Encephalartos laurentianus). This endangered species is native to a valley on the border of DR Congo and Angola. The Laurent palm fern was discovered in 1902 by Louis Gentil, an employee of the then Botanical Garden. The seven now-mature trees were grown from seeds brought back from Congo in the 1930s and 1950s. The plants first flowered in the 1990s.
More information at plantentuinmeise.be/nl/pQe0zFX/topstukken-onder-glas