There’s more than fishes at Shedd Aquarium—there’s also an abundance of plants. Habitats across Shedd are filled with organic plant life to replicate the natural environments of the animals, whether that’s the rivers of Africa or the rainforests of the Amazon, all tended by the aquarists and Shedd’s horticulture team.
Look even closer and you’ll see familiar leaves and flowers of plants that you might have in your home. The jungle inside Shedd, Amazon Rising, is filled with amazing tropical plants, and we’ve got a breakdown of four familiar ones.
Monstera
You’re probably familiar with the “Swiss cheese plant,” a species of monstera known as Monstera deliciosa, easily recognized by the distinct holes in its leaves. These tropical arums make wonderful houseplants and are easy to grow.
In the wild, they have a distinct growing pattern: The seedlings grow along the ground until they find a tree for support, then these thick-stemmed vines grow up the trunk toward the light, developing roots that reach into both the air and the earth. If you see thick roots growing out of your monstera’s pot, that’s an aerial root. Because of the high humidity of our Amazon Rising habitats, monsteras grow fast and large.
Bromeliads
Bromeliads add a nice decorative touch to a home, but they’re also a great source of shelter for frogs and water for birds. Because of their rosette shape and trichomes (a fine fuzz on the leaves), bromeliads capture plenty of water within their leaves. These small pools provide a habitat away from aquatic predators for tadpoles to grow.
The bromeliads in Amazon Rising are native to the Amazon river basin. There are thousands of bromeliad species, each with distinctive foliage, from soft to spiky, symmetrical to irregular and solid to striped, as you can see if you look closely in Amazon Rising.
Hibiscus
You wouldn’t necessarily think of hibiscus, which seems uniquely tied to Pacific and Caribbean islands, as an Amazon flower, but several species are native to the Amazon. At Shedd, hibiscus bushes and leaves fill in habitats while the flowers offer great food for many of our turtles and tortoises. If you’ve had hibiscus tea, you can imagine how tart and tasty the fresh flowers are.
Even though they look like finnicky plants, hibiscus are well-suited to container gardening. They do well outside in Chicago summers and can be brought inside for winter.
Heliconia
Most of the known species of Heliconia are native to the tropical Americas, and many thrive within the Amazon itself. This plant can grow up to 15 feet tall, depending on the species, with large emerald leaves reaching anywhere from 6 to 10 feet. Its colorful flowers are evocative of the bird of paradise, which you may be familiar with as a houseplant—it thrives in the same general temperature and humidity that our homes provide. Keep an eye out for the broad Heliconia leaves in Amazon Rising.
Shedd’s commitment to outstanding care extends to our animals, our plants and even our ecosystem. Our healthy habitat plants help our animals, and our gardens just outside the aquarium are lush with native plants to help local animals thrive. While you’re visiting Shedd this spring, be sure to take in the jungles inside and stop and smell the gardens outside.
- Katie Antonsson, social media specialist