Amongst many plants of worldwide economic importance, which are grown especially for the benefit of schools, are rice, cassava, sugar cane, banana, cocoa - a native of the Amazonian rainforest, coffee, cotton and a para-rubber tree, Hevea brasiliensis.

Ornamental plants, too, are well represented, such as hibiscus, caladiums with multi-coloured leaves, anthuriums (flamingo flowers) with bright red bracts and many others.

The Tropical House pool complements the lowland rainforest vegetation with tropical water plants. Floating on the surface are water hyacinths, Eichhornia crassipes, buoyed up by air-filled bladders formed on the leaf stalks, and in a shallow bed beside the pool grows rice, the greatest provider of human food worldwide.

These are just a few examples of the many remarkable plants in the Tropical House. Linger here to appreciate the wonderful variety of flowers, leaf shapes, colours and fragrances of the tropics.