Volunteer Park Conservatory cycads, and orchids, visitors will find banana ("Musa"), Bird of Paradise ("Strelitzia"), "Anthurium" and ginger (Zingiberaceae) in this house. The conservatory’s orchid collection, which began as a gift from Mrs. Anna H. Clise in 1921, is also found in the Palm House. Orchids are a large and diverse flowering plant family composed of more than 20,000 species. The conservatory’s collection includes representatives of the largest genera – "Bulbophyllum", "Epidendrum", and "Dendrobium" – as well as commonly cultivated genera such as "Cattleya" and "Phalaenopsis". Transporting endangered orchids is prohibited by the Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) and many
Cattleya amethystoglossa The lip is bright magenta in color and partially wraps around the column. The throat varies in color from white to pale yellow or gold. Flowers are produced from late fall to early spring. "C. amethystoglossa" grows best in intermediate or warm growing conditions. This species is closely related to "C. guttata" in many ways but differs in flower color and other minor botanical details. There have been a few coerulea and alba forms found in the wild. There are several synonyms for this species: "Cattleya amethystoglossa" var. "lilacina", "Cattleya guttata keteleerii", "Cattleya guttatta lilacina", "Cattleya guttata prinzii", "Cattleya guttata"