048/2026
Plants in heat and drought

Opening of the new Mediterranean House in the Botanical Garden

The Botanical Garden at Osnabrück University has set up a greenhouse - financially supported by the Friends of the Garden - to display plant species from the Mediterranean mountains.

On Thursday, May 7, it will be presented by PD Dr. Stefan Abrahamczyk at 3 p.m. in the Helikoniensaal of the Botanical Garden, Albrechtstraße 29, in conjunction with a guided tour; interested members of the public are cordially invited.

Background: The plants of the Mediterranean region need sun and warmth. Due to their occurrence in the local mountains, many Mediterranean plant species cope surprisingly well with short and in some cases severe periods of frost. However, the cool but wet weather conditions of northern Germany, especially in winter, are much more problematic for these species. In the newly installed unheated greenhouse, the soil and air humidity can be optimally adapted to the needs of the plants and the glass panes mitigate the strongest sub-zero temperatures somewhat. As a result, the Mediterranean species shown here survive our northern German winters without any problems and often start to grow in early spring.

In summer, it is very hot and dry in the Mediterranean region, which poses special challenges for the plant world there. "The new curator of the Botanic Garden, PD Dr. Stefan Abrahamczyk, has chosen an interesting selection of plant species with diverse adaptations to heat and drought," explains Prof. Dr. Sabine Zachgo, Director of the Botanic Garden. "Bulbous plants, for example, only sprout leaves with the first rains in the fall and let them die back in late spring with the onset of the summer drought."

Further information for the media:
PD Dr. Stefan Abrahamczyk, Osnabrück University
Botanic Garden
 stefan.abrahamczyk@uos.de

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