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Aside from its unsurpassed reptilian collection, Reptile Gardens is also host to hundreds of beautifully blooming orchids and bromeliads. These dynamic flowers help transform this Black Hills wild animal park into a resonant tropical and color splashed oasis.

The large majority of orchids and bromeliads are types of epiphyte plants - literally meaning that they grow upon other plants, and unlike most other plant varieties, they don't need dirt. The root systems of these vibrant flowering plants are specialized for attaching to tree bark or limbs, other larger plants, and even rocks - similar to lichen and moss (which are also epiphyte organisms). These diverse plants derive their nutrients from the air and sun (through photosynthesis) and the water that collects in their colorful flowers and leaves.

Orchids and bromeliads are most commonly found in tropical places. Since they are not constrained to ground rooting, they are even often found thriving among host tree limbs high up in the canopies of tropical forests. However, with their specialized root systems and immensely diverse species, orchids and bromeliads can be found all around the world in habitats ranging from deserts to the tropics.

Orchids belong to the plant family Orchidaceae. This single family branches out into hundreds of different genus and tens of thousands of varying species. Orchids are prized for their simplistic, yet astonishing tropical beauty. They have a wide variety of natural habitats and are a growingly popular (yet delicate) houseplant.

There are more species of orchids than there are even of known mammals or birds in the world. Through non-stop hybridization and discovery of different cultivators, the orchid species list continues to grow at a rate of nearly 800 per year! The culinary vanilla bean is the seedpod of Vanilla orchis – a species of orchid.

The bromeliad family is also exceedingly large and various, containing about 1,500 American species alone. This family of succulents contains more terrestrial (soil-loving) species than that of orchids, but epiphytic bromeliads are still the most prevalent in the family. Members of the Bromeliaceae family greatly vary in size, color and shape. With relatively adaptable root systems, bromeliads grow in a wide range of natural habitats from the southwestern deserts of the United States to tropical rain forests near the equator. Some anchor their specialized roots in trees or rocks, others in the ground. In many bromeliad species, the actual flower is relatively small, but the plants are further adorned with colorful, water gathering leaves.

The bromeliad family contains species from pineapple (yes the fruit) to the common, tiny Spanish moss (a great rock garden succulent). Small species of frogs are known to live their entire lives within bromeliad plants.