Ancient Rainforest
Climate: Lowland tropical
Tropical regions hug the equator and are often warm and humid year round. We have both “dry” and “wet” tropical plants in our collection, representing the flora of the island of New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean. Many of the plant species found on New Caledonia are not only rare, but also threatened by habitat loss due to logging and nickel mining. Retrophyllum minus, for example, is found in a single stream on the island. New Caledonia is also home to the last remaining tropical forest where gymnosperms still dominate.
Pictured: Ptisana attenuata from New Caledonia