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Desert House

The Fuqua Conservatory’s Desert House offers a glimpse into this harsh, beautiful world, and explores the unique ways that plants thrive in the desert.

Far from barren, deserts are actually teeming with life. The arid regions of Madagascar and southern Africa are particularly notable, home to an astonishing array of species. Nearly all of the plant species that grow in these regions are endemic — found nowhere else in the world — and there are a great number of them. Madagascar alone as more than 11,000 endemic plant species.

There are no cacti in the Desert House. These plants are mostly succulents, including Euophorbia, Aloe, Haworthia, Adeniums (Desert Rose) and Welwitschia.

Because many of the plants in the Desert House have different growing requirements, microclimates are created by using different soils and watering regimes. Temperatures may be cooler than you expect: 68-72° F in the day, 60° at night.

Desert Rose

With flowers as beautiful as they are toxic, this popular "rose" can be found in the Desert House of the Dorothy Chapman Fuqua Conservatory.
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Pachypodium species

Look, but definitely don't touch this prickly succulent in the Desert House of the Dorthy Chapman Fuqua Conservatory.
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Madagascan Periwinkle

This cancer-fighting flowering plant is also appreciated as an ornamental plant with a long flowering season. Find it in the Desert House of the Dorothy Chapman Fuqua Conservatory.
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