Floral Palace

In the three sections of the Floral Palace you will find a great range of plant life from cacti and other succulents found in the deserts of Arizona and California, through the flowers and shrubs typical of Mediterranean lands, to the orchids and food plants of the moist tropics.

In one way the Floral Palace is rather like a large private garden. There are permanent features, trees and shrubs: there are also areas where a succession of brilliant bedding plants give ever changing shapes and colours. Hibiscus (Roasa sinensis): The national flower of all 13 states of Malaysia. Before the introduction of modern medication, this plant provided the people in the Orient with medical uses.

The Bougainvillea is the woody climber with pink and orange blooms that reaches half way across the roof in all three section of the Floral Palace. A native of central America it now has many colour forms and is plated in every warm country. It blossoms for many months but the flowers are worth a closer look; the true flower is tiny and yellow, the real colour provided by the big floral bracts.

Flamingos & Tropical Birds

The Chilean Flamingos are found in various parts of South America and can be distinguished from other species of flamingo by their pink knees. In the wild, flamingos get their pink pigment in their food, invertebrates and algae, which they filter out of the water through their beaks. Although we cannot provide them with exactly the same food as they would get in the wild, we are able to prepare a rich mixture which is just what they need to keep them "n the pink".

Sharing this section of the Floral Palace are the free flight tropical birds. You will notice a variety of calls and an array of colours.

Each individual species has a unique song. Male birds sing to proclaim their own presence and warn off other males, to establish territories and to attract females. The bright colours of the birds are use most strikingly during courtship displays.

Did you know that a sparrow has twice
as many bones in its neck (14) as a giraffe?

Tropical Butterflies

Living butterflies in a lush rainforest setting, a photographer's paradise. Automatic controls provide the correct heat and ventilation. Butterflies need fresh flowers and the correct food plants for laying eggs. If you watch closely you may see the eggs actually being deposited on carefully selected leaves. The types of butterfly on display vary week by week and Giant Atlas moths are also shown when available. When the sun is not shining, most butterflies will not fly. Look closely on the plants and netting where you will see the butterflies at rest. As butterflies are fragile creatures it is important that visitors heed our special request: Please look but do not touch!
The average lifespan of the butterflies on display is approximately 3 weeks. Members of the helicon family can live up to 3 months as they can eat pollen as well as nectar. The Atlas moth however, only lives for 10-14 days as it has no mouth so it cannot feed in its adult (imago) state.