TROPICAL MOUNTAIN FOREST LIES WHERE THE CLOUDS FORM

Among tree ferns and epiphytes

In the Mountain Forest House you can see plants from the humid mountain forest in the tropical mountains. It is also typically called the “cloud forest” because it is at the height where the clouds form. Tree ferns and so-called epiphytes, among others, thrive here. 

An epiphyte is a plant that grows on top of another without parasitizing it, so it comes up into the light without having to make its own stem. Plant groups with many epiphytes include orchids and the pineapple family. 

In the Mountain Forest House you can also experience different types of citrus fruits and two very well-known cultivated plants that are grown in this particular climate type: tea and coffee. 

The plants in the Mountain Forest House originate from 1000-2000 metres altitude.

Important role for evolution

Mountain forests seem to play a very important role in the evolution of new species and for the survival of species during periods of major climate change, e.g. during ice ages. 

Watch the film about epiphytes in the Mountain Forest House with the head of the Greenhouses and vice-dean at Aarhus University, Finn Borchsenius.