Ann Bellis . . . Mathematician with a green thumb

Biographical sketch of Ann Bellis and her work in the greenhouse. This and other articles may be found in the University Archives.

Citation for this article is: "Ann Bellis . . . Mathematician with a green thumb, " Pieces of Eight, March 15, 1984.

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When former biology professor Don Jeffreys first asked Ann Bellis to take over management of the Science Complex greenhouse, she didn't exactly leap at the opportunity.

"I wasn't too excited about taking on the management responsibilities, even though my interest in plants was growing quickly," she recalls. "But I agreed to take in on for just six months, long enough to get things straightened out."

Today, five years later, she's still there -- watering, repotting, labeling and otherwise caring for the residents of what she calls "the brightest spot on campus."

Numbers and Plants

Her passion for plants, Bellis explains, is a relatively recent development. For many years, she filled the dual roles of mathematician and mother, raising two sons while earning math degrees and teaching.

A native of the North Carolina mountains, she grew up in the village of Black Mountain, just east of Asheville. It was at Black Mountain High School that she met Vince Bellis (Biology).

A short while later, they were married, while she was a freshman at N.C. State. Sons Larry and Jerry were born while the couple earned undergraduate and master's degrees at State. Any work with plants was eclipsed by demands of education and motherhood. When the Bellis family moved to Ontario, Canada, where Vince completed work for his doctorate, Ann taught.

Develops As a Hobby

Her involvement with the plant world did not begin until after the family moved to Greenville in 1966. While teaching courses in mathematics, Ann began to take classes in botany.

"Caring for plants had always been something of a hobby," she says. "But my knowledge was quite limited. I would go on field trips, for example, and never really know what was going on.

"So I began to take botany courses just for fun, just to learn."

Now in addition to managing the greenhouse, she teaches botany laboratory sessions, introducing students to the details of the plant world that she finds so fascinating.

"Most students seem to enter introductory botany classes and labs ready to be bored," she observes. "But I've noticed that most of these students develop a very positive, enthusiastic outlook as they actually work with plants and observe things, small things, that they've never noticed before."

Mathematics continues to be a part of her life. She still teaches math classes through the Division of Continuing Education. But overall, her emphases has shifted over to plants.

According to Bellis, it takes a positivie attitude and a great deal of plain hard work to keep things growing and healthy in the greenhouse.

The facility she manages has five rooms, two of which are specially maintained. One is kept hot and dry for cacti and succulents, the other stays cool and moist for ferns and epiphytes. Watering is done by hand with a hose and water wand. Seeing that the entire greenhouse is well watered takes about 45 minutes daily.

Despite automatically operated vents, fans and heaters, temperatures in the greenhouse can reach extremes, sometimes as high as 110 degrees. This poses no problem for the plants, Bellis explains, if they are kept moist.

In fact, she cannot recall a single major plant kill ever occurring in the greenhouse. Winter lows have never dipped below 55 degrees. The severe cold snap this past Christmas laid plants low all across campus, but not a leaf was ruffled in the greenhouse. The biggest leaf drop during the year occurs in the fall when most of the plants respond to shorter day lengths.

Diverse Collection

Such stability is fortunate in a place which houses such a diverse and tender family of plants. In addition to many household foliage plants, the greenhouse contains colorful hibiscus, bougainvillea, orchids and bromeliads.

Unusual specimens include some fascinating cacti and succulents, and insect-eating plants such as the Venus fly-trap and pitcher plants.

"The diversity of the plant collection is its most important feature," says Bellis. "We try to maintain representatives of all the major plant groups."

Her personal favorites are the ferns. Currently under reorganization, the fern collection includes several "tree ferns" from Australia and nearby islands which can grow up to 30 feet in height.

Botanical Experiments

Although primarily maintained as a plant repository, the greenhouse also serves as a site of student botany experiments. Many types of plants are propogated there including the bean and corn seedlings used in freshman botany classes.

More serious experimentation is done in nearby "growth chambers" where variables of temperature and daylight can be more exactly controlled than in the greenhouse.

Regular tours of the greenhouse are conducted for school groups and garden clubs. Indoor plant sales are held twice each year and have proved quite popular.

Drawing on her years of experience in the greenhouse, Bellis hesitates to be too free in giving out general advice on houseplant care. She does observe that inadequate light is probably the number one cause of houseplant failure whne one looks beyond lack of water, and suggests placing houseplants outdoors (in open shade) during the warm weather instead of keeping them cooped up in the house year 'round.