Go Green, Go Greenhouse: The Arthur Ross Greenhouse @ Barnard

Located on top of Milbank Hall, the Arthur Ross Greenhouse is home to a dazzling array of plants (and some bugs, too). Part conservatory, part research lab, the Greenhouse has taught Barnard students about the wonderful world of botany and ecology since Milbank was first built in 1897. Barnard’s first faculty member and first Dean was Dr. Emily Gregory, a botanist, and it is thanks to her, Barnard trustee Arthur Ross, and many other dedicated workers that students can enjoy and study the beautiful plant life housed in the greenhouse. The current greenhouse opened in 1997, and it is now overseen by Nick Gershberg, Barnard’s Greenhouse Administrator, along with a small group of student workers who are crucial to the running of the greenhouse. The greenhouse is also home to research space for students interested in botany and ecology.

Among the greenhouse’s collection are plants from around the world, including begonias, Ladyfinger cacti, Peruvian Old Man cacti, and a cucumber tree (which does not grow cucumbers). The Peruvian Old Man, unlike other cacti, has a layer of “hairs” that protect it from the harsh environment of the Andes.

But other plants are from closer to home, like this pitcher plant, which grows right here in the tri-state area. Others, like this coleus plant, have been cultivated to show off their rich, bright hues. One of the strangest plants in the collection is the sensitive plant, which curls up its leaves upon feeling any sort of contact.

One plant, the ant plant, has elaborate structures built by ants which live symbiotically in its trunk, creating a beautiful, twisting pattern within the plant's trunk where the ants dwell. One of the specimens within the greenhouse has been cut open to show how the ants burrow into the plant’s trunk.

The pride of the greenhouse collection is Berani, an Amorphophallus titanum, better known as a corpse plant. Corpse plants are rare, endangered plants that only grow in a small part of Sumatra, Indonesia and in the few greenhouses lucky enough to possess one. They take up to a decade to bloom for the first time, and only bloom sporadically afterwards. When they bloom, they release a strong smell—hence the name corpse plant.

Berani came to Barnard in 2013 from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, no larger than a potato. It stayed dormant and underground for a while, before it peeked above ground in April 2020 during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, grew to over five feet tall in just a month, and finally bloomed in June, reaching 6 feet tall before it collapsed and began its growing cycle again. This July, Berani bloomed for the second time, reaching almost 7 feet tall, and letting out its signature stink. Hundreds of visitors came to see Berani unfurl its glorious spathe with its vivid red hue. Berani collapsed at the end of her bloom, but hopefully in a few years we will all get to see her again in all her glory. But until then, students can always continue to enjoy all the wonderful plants the greenhouse holds at their open hours.