Jurassic forest in DC

[wolewiler@juno.com (William E. Olewiler)]

        The United States Botanic Garden at the foot of Capitol Hill,
Washington, DC features a "Jurassic Forest" in one wing. As their
display states, no grasses, no flowering plants. You walk a pathway
(with reproduced dinosaur tracks) past and under ferns, cyclads, junipers, 
mosses, sagos, and yews. 
        Scattered in the undergrowth are conifer cones from the middle
cretaceous, a triassic conifer branch, a petrified log, and a Dilophosaurus 
footprint. By a small stream you see modeled eggs, with an Allosaurus
having just emerged from its shell.
        In the rest of the Garden the annual orchid exhibit continues through 
February 23.