Inside the Joe and Alice Rinard Orchid Greenhouse at Ball State University
“We are one of the largest collegiate orchid collections here in the United States. We have about 2,000 different species of orchid throughout the greenhouse. Some are rare and endangered,” says Halyn Ferris, curator at the Joe and Alice Rinard Orchid Greenhouse.
It's a refuge for those rare and endangered plants that have been confiscated from the environmentally devastating illegal orchid trade.
“We’re one of 80 places in the United States that if an illegal orchid was brought over international lines, we could get a call to get that orchid to help rehabilitate it and conserve it for future study and research,” states Ferris.
Walking through the collection puts you up close and personal with a lot of plants—carnivorous plants, edible plants—but the stars of the show here are orchids. Across three rooms that range from warm rainforest to cool cloud forest, you can find a dizzying variety of orchids, each uniquely adapted to its environment.
“Orchids are one of the most ancient species of flowering plants that we have. They are basically master manipulators of their pollinators. When a pollinator comes to pollinate it, their big, beautiful display is arranged in a way that it is going to make that pollinator go exactly where that flower wants it to go. There is the big labellum, which is a big, really showy petal of the orchid that is made intricately to attract the pollinator. In the Lady Slipper Orchid, specifically, that big pouch [is where] they want bugs to think there's something in there,” Ferris explains.
Carnivorous Plants and Unique Species
“One of their special adaptations is called mimicry. I do have some species in there that will look like the female species of their pollinator, and they're basically catfishing the males into interacting with them. They're all about the manipulation of that pollinator,” says Ferris.
The collection may focus on orchids, but that's not all. It's a veritable garden of delights, including some fauna amongst the flora and some plants with big appetites.
“My favorite plant overall—I like to say that they're the ones that got me this job—are carnivorous plants. They naturally grow in very poor nutrient soil, like bogs or cliffsides. They're not getting a lot from their roots. They developed the adaptation of being able to eat bugs,” Ferris describes.
“I also like to come back here because the neotropical pitcher plants are back here. These are specialized leaf structures. They're supposed to hold rainwater as it falls down. That water is filled with that digestive enzyme,” Ferris explains. “Any bug that would fall into one of these cups, they would not be able to get out. Then that water starts eating them and then it's fed right back to the plants. You can kind of think of them as outside stomachs.”
It's a one-of-a-kind collection, but it's more than just a greenhouse. It's a place for the next generation of botanists to get their hands dirty.
“It's a really fun opportunity to be a part of, and I hope to be here until I graduate, which is about another year,” says Peyton Rogers, a Ball State Greenhouse Assistant. “We focus on a lot of youth education, because we believe that if you teach the younger generation, we can help promote more conservation efforts in America.”
The Environmental Education Center
They've built a new space to teach kids about the natural world.
“We opened the Environmental Education Center in 2022. It's nicknamed the Nature Lab to be a little more approachable to the public and kiddos. This space houses some hands-on wildlife opportunities for kiddos. We have Beaker, our box turtle. We have native eastern tiger salamanders, native frogs and toads, and our beehive,” Erica Oliver, coordinator of the Environmental Education Program, describes.
Educating the next generation is more important now than ever.
Ferris says, “We are already losing so many species out in the wild. Because of climate change, habitat destruction, and invasive species, we're losing a lot of orchids that are native. Overcollecting adds to the issue. Going out to the wild [and] taking it, you're actually removing it from an entire fungi network that it needed to survive. Obviously, it's not going to do as well, and it's most likely not going to make it.”
Rinard Orchid Greenhouse provides educational opportunities, a sanctuary for endangered plants, and a wonderful place to soak in some nature and perhaps some much-needed perspective.
“The one takeaway that I like to give everybody who visits is that the world is so much bigger and more complex than we think. There's a lot that goes into even a tiny little flower that's less than a half inch,” concludes Ferris.
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The above video is a clip from Journey Indiana from WTIU. You can watch more segments and full episodes at pbs.org/show/journey-indiana/
