Seeds on the move: strategies for their dispersal

Fancy a taste of the tropics? Marvel at the exotic plants of the tropical belt? Breathe in the scents of the Mediterranean? Admire blooming alpine roses? The travel agency that takes you to these holiday destinations is called the University of Zurich Botanical Garden. The risks and travel costs are low, and the guides speak your language. As in all unfamiliar worlds, you’ll need almost all your senses to experience the unknown – or simply to enjoy it. In the Botanical Garden, you can discover plants from every corner of the globe, including medicinal, dye and food plants. Furthermore, the three tropical greenhouses – Tropical Dry Zones, Tropical Lowland Rainforest and Mountain Forest – offer a colourful and fragrant variety – even in winter. The greatest contrast to our winter flora is found in the ‘Lowland Tropical House’, where, at 24 degrees Celsius and high humidity, a colourful and lush array of plants can be found: vanilla, cassava and cocoa. With a bit of luck, you might hear the whistling frogs singing. You can also climb a giant tree and admire the abundance from a lofty height. In the ‘Tropical Dry Zones’ house, you’ll encounter a variety of spiny plants from all over the world, including useful plants such as the frankincense tree, the jojoba shrub and the caper bush. In a display case at a comfortable viewing height, you can also watch carnivorous plants digesting their prey. It also houses a rarity: the Welwitschia from the Namib Desert. In the third tropical greenhouse, ‘Mountain Forest’, you’ll find a collection of evolutionarily primitive plants as well as a host of red-flowering species that are pollinated by birds in their native habitats. A real mimosa is just waiting for you to touch it.