Tropical Plant Research Information
If you are attempting to research plant species on the Internet we suggest you use the MSN search engine first.  MSN tends to bring up research information near the top of the list while Google (which is a more commercial search engine) tends to bring up plants for sale.  If you are trying to locate plants to purchase Google may be the better choice.

Including Officially Recognized Plant Name Sites
Unfortunately many commonly accepted "scientific" plant names are simply made up.  Four good examples are "Philodendron glaucophyllum", "Philodendron mandaianum", "Philodendron wilsonii" and "Philodendron barryii".  None are valid scientific names yet are well known amongst collectors.  If the plant name you are searching does not appear on one of these sites it is very likely not a recognized scientific name.

The International Aroid Society   Not a Member?  You ought to be!
http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Join%20IAS.html
http://www.aroid.org/
 

A service of the Missouri Botanical Garden
http://mobot.mobot.org/W3T/Search/vast.html

The International Plant Names Index
http://www.ipni.org/index.html

Information on almost any living species on earth!
www.eol.org

Electronic Plant Information Center
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, London
http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/epic/index.htm

CATE  CATE Project (Creating a Taxonomic E-Science)
http://www.cate-araceae.org/
 

http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/wcsp/prepareChecklist.do?checklist=selected_families%40%40039080220071644039

http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/index.pl

http://www.rhs.org.uk/index.htm

Australian National Botanic Gardens
Australian Plant Names Index
http://www.anbg.gov.au/cpbr/databases/apni-search-full.html

 http://www.ishs.org/

 
Scientific plant descriptions
http://www.efloras.org/

Florida Council of Bromeliad Societies, Inc.
If you grow and love bromeliads this is a wonderful resource!
http://fcbs.org/butcher/dereksays.htm

 

http://www.gardening-tips-guide.info
Gardening basics to get any gardener off to a good start, including evaluating a site, selecting healthy plants,  analyzing the soil and much more.

 

 Chichica Garden   http://www.heliconiagarden.com/
View some of the strangest heliconias in Panama in a private collection.

 

Eco-tours

THE RARE THAILAND PARROT FLOWER IS REAL!   WANT TO SEE IMPATIENS PSITTACINA IN PERSON?  THERE IS NOW A TOUR IN THAILAND TO SEE THE PLANT OPERATED BY A COMPANY CALLED TOURDOI.  THE LINK IS IN THAI BUT YOU CAN CONTACT THEM FOR INFORMATION.  EMAIL: tourdoi@gmail.com 

CLICK ON THEIR LINK, LOOK FOR THE PARROT FLOWER PHOTO, CLICK ON THAT PHOTO.  YOU'LL FIND LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE AND NEW PHOTOS OF THE PLANT IN THE TEXT,
www.tourdoi.com/general/flower/main_page.htm

Haven't read the story about the Thailand Parrot Flower, Impatiens psittacina?
http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Rare%20Thailand%20Parrot%20Flower%20SP.html
 

Joep Moonen (pronounced yupe or jupe)'s
 

Joep is the discoverer of numerous very rare species and takes guests on guided excursions into the rainforests of French Guiana and neighboring Brazil. 
Email Joep to request a brochure! 
e-mail  EmeraldJungleVillage@wanadoo.fr
http://home.planet.nl/~gumamaus/

Click here for more information about
Joep's Philodendron moonenii and Philodendron 'joepii'

Botanical Gardens

For spectacular tropical plant viewing, don't miss the Missouri Botanical Garden!  It is incredible!!
http://www.mobot.org/

                                                                                     
Our "Home" when we are in Miami!
 http://www.fairchildgarden.org/

 

 

Garden Radio Programs

The Garden Rebel
http://www.gardenrebel.com/

A kind word from Robert Vincent Sims, The Garden Rebel:
"As a national garden radio show host I have to research thousands of sites. By far the Exotic Rainforest has the most interesting information and the best photography I have ever seen. I have all ready told all of my friends about the Exotic Rainforest and will continue to let all of my listeners know about this site. Steve's dedication for accuracy is impressive, he is a master researcher and I consider it the best private site I have ever seen."

You can listen to the Garden Rebel on the world wide web at www.wdbo.com live on Sunday mornings. You can also here Vince's nationally syndicated show on any of the Radio America Network stations every Sunday morning from 10:00 - 12:00 Eastern time. Be sure to call in, he loves making new friends!

 

Tropical Plant Discussion Groups

Aroid-l Electronic Newsletter for Aroid Collectors
http://www.aroid.org/aroid_l/index.html

Exotic Gardening
Are you a "Plant-a-holic"?
 http://www.exoticgardening.com/

 

Discuss Philodendrons and Aroids with Expert Collectors
http://blueboard.com/aroid/index.php?PHPSESSID=5fb8a5a316902317e6528b04378a7573&
 

 

Plant Resources for Collectors

Looking for great banana plants?
Going Bananas, Homestead, FL
http://www.going-bananas.com/

The Palm Haven contains Information on Palms, Cycads and other tropical species
http://palm-trees.org/

http://www.plantdelights.com/

http://www.gardencom.com/sseedtropical.html

  http://mysteriousgarden.com/

Photo Sites

Orchid Species Photographs by Eric Hunt
http://www.orchidphotos.org:80/

Plant World by Eric Hunt
www.plantworld.org

                                     

If you enjoy good nature photography as
much as I do you have to visit Carol L. Edwards'
remarkable website!  I met Carol through a
gardening website since she too is a "plant nut". 
But Carol has a talent that few nature
photographer's can match. 
You will be amazed!   
http://natureimagesby-cle.com/

Beautiful Tropical Plant Photography by John S. Smolowe  You'll enjoy these!
http://johnsmolowe.typepad.com/photos/plants/index.html