It's a jungle in there

Despite the unpredictable Midwestern weather in Bloomington, there is always one place on the IU campus that maintains just the right climate. Flowers bloom, fruit grow and trees reach up to the heavens -- or at least to the glass ceilings of the greenhouses of Jordan Hall. \nIU students, faculty and visitors have probably seen the glass buildings as they walk or drive down Third Street. But few realize the importance of the greenhouses in the research of the IU Department of Biology. The network is home to a wealth of different plants to study and enjoy.\nThe greenhouses on the first floor of Jordan Hall have seen visitors and been instructing students since 1956, when the building was built. This "teaching collection" has grown into a "diverse collection of plants from many different families and areas of the world," said Greenhouse Supervisor John Lemon. \nLemon, along with the rest of his four-person, full-time staff, takes care of the plants and the buildings, as well as gives greenhouse tours to visitors. \nMany plants in the teaching collection, which are primarily composed of tropical and desert plants, might be familiar to visitors. Plants like pineapple, plumeria, eggplants and azaleas grow year-round. Trees bearing coconuts, lemons, dates and figs reach to the ceiling alongside papayas, olives and even coffee beans.\nThere are also rare plants to observe. The agave plant, for example, is housed in the "desert room" of the greenhouse. The plant is used in the making of tequila, Lemon said. Its fibers can also be used to make rope. There are venus flytraps and pitcher plants, which are carnivorous plants that use tricks to capture insects to eat. Another plant, called a mimosa plant, curls up its leaves at the slightest touch or change in temperature. There is even a type of plant called a cycad, which has been around since the time of the dinosaurs. \n"It's still around," Lemon said, "and they look much like they did back then."\nLynda Delph, professor of biology at IU, spends much of her time researching plant evolution, but she enjoys the collection.\n"I think we have a beautiful teaching collection," she said. "You go into (one greenhouse), you feel like you're in the tropics. You go into another and feel like you're in the desert. It's a very peaceful place to go and spend some time."\nThe first-floor greenhouses are open to the public, and are quite popular in the community, Lemon said.\n"Some of the local or even regional elementary schools, junior high and high schools take classes through here," he said. \nOther clubs and organizations also tour the greenhouse, but "we do more school classes than anything else," Lemon said.\nJordan Hall is also the home to IU's research greenhouses, located on the roof of the building and accessible from the fifth and sixth floors. These greenhouses are home to more normal plants, Lemon said. \n"It's not necessarily tropical," Lemon said. "There are things we would consider weeds, and grasses." \nHowever, he claims the plants in these greenhouses are just as important, if not more so, than the exotic flora in the teaching collection. These research greenhouses are where faculty and graduate students go to study the evolution, genetics and biology of plants. \nCurrently, Delph is studying the evolutionary ecology of silene, a flowering weed. Lemon also said there is a large study of sunflowers currently going on in the greenhouses, as well as numerous other projects. Full details on the research projects being done by faculty and student can be found at www.bio.indiana.edu. \nThe Jordan Hall first floor greenhouse complex is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Tours for groups can be arranged by calling the greenhouse at 855-7717.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Jenny Kobiela at jkobiela@indiana.edu.