The Evolution House

Visiting the Evolution House is a fascinating walk through over 3,500 million years of plant evolution.

Three major 'milestones' have been selected to illustrate the incredibly long history of plant evolution in the space available: the Silurian, Carboniferous and Cretaceous periods and includes a coal swamp showing the giant clubmosses and horsetails from 300 million years ago. Cycads appeared 200 million years ago, followed by conifers and the flowering plants, which dominate the plant kingdom today.

Exciting effects take visitors through the evolutionary process, with a fuming volcano and glowing red lava, even dinosaur footprints!
Among the species featured here are stromatolites, Cooksonia (the first plants that adapted to life on land), liverworts, mosses, selaginellas, and the first ferns, including the world's largest horsetail (Equisetum giganteum) and the high-climbing fern Lygodium, whose fronds can grow to over 30 m (97.5 ft) long.

The Evolution House is a completely new type of educational-horticultural display concept, involving landscape immersion techniques. A leaflet providing further information on the Evolution House is available inside the glasshouse itself.

Continue the tour

Back up to: Pagoda Vista Zone

Carry on to: Temperate House

See also

Kew's History & Heritage: Evolution House