The Living Rainforest opens public display of unusual ‘water banana’ plants in Hampstead Norreys

A new display of unusual plants has been created at an indoor rainforest.

The Living Rainforest is celebrating the successful propagation of ‘water banana’ plants inside its tropical glasshouses at Hampstead Norreys.

Water banana plants are thriving in The Living Rainforest’s tropical glasshouses in Hampstead Norreys. Credit: Karl Hansen

And the plants will be visible for visitors to enjoy in the centre of the main pond all year-round.

Horticulturists at the centre have been working to improve their understanding of how to grow the aroid plant, which originates from Madagascar and is the only known species in the Typhonodorum genus.

And their results have led to a dramatic increase in the centre’s propagation success rate, and helped to establish multiple new generations of seedlings.

Horticulturist Chloe McGiveron revealed that floating seedlings typically perform much better than submerged ones – something she jokingly referred to as the ‘floaty-sinky test’.

She added: “I’m really happy with what I’ve learned about growing water bananas.

“Now 90 per cent propagation success is common.”

Water bananas grow in swampy water-logged environments which support discrete ecosystems.

Due to their size and relative rarity, they are often viewed as an indicator species.

The loss and or destruction of Typhonodorum can signal a wider and more significant threat to this semi-aquatic ecosystem.

But the centre’s passion for water bananas started almost a decade ago.

Inspired by a visit to the Seychelles National Botanical Garden in Mahe in 2016, chief horticulturist Peter Clark sourced some water banana seeds after returning to the UK.

Three seedlings eventually matured and were publicly displayed in a small pond in the rainforest glasshouses two years later.

But one of the three transplanted seedlings later died after being damaged by the Living Rainforest’s free-roaming yellow-knobbed curassow, Luigi.

In response, the horticulture team planted the delicate seedlings near mature plants to protect against any future disruption.

Image Credits and Reference: https://www.newburytoday.co.uk/news/rainforest-opens-new-display-of-unusual-water-banana-plant-9398587/