The greenhouse on the fifth floor of Rockwell Integrated Sciences Center proves that plants are more human than one might consider. The space is home to a variety of plants that may all look like the same patch of green but, in reality, have their own unique stories and habits.
“I think you can form relationships with your plants,” biology major Olivia Hoffman ’24 said.
John Drummond, professor of biology and the biology lab coordinator, said that he wanted a variety of plants, from more primitive ferns to the more complex orchids, all with their own individual flair.
“What we have in here is a hodgepodge of things because we think about more primitive plants and more modern plants,” Drummond said. “I wanted to try to have some representatives along the way. There are a lot of ferns in here, so these are non-flowering vascular plants, and we have some ferns that are earlier on than other ferns.”
It is the diversity of the plants that makes them stand out to the students who visit them.
“I feel like especially caring for houseplants, you kind of get to see that different plants, they have different needs,” Hoffman said. “They’re so much more human than you would really expect, and you wouldn’t know that unless you work super closely with them, but to me, orchids are so sassy. They have an attitude.”
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