Our botanists go on collaborative expeditions to find and study plants; to learn where they grow, what they need and if they are threatened with extinction.

In our laboratories, scientists study plant genetics to clarify relationships between plants. This helps conservation workers to decide which are the most important plant populations to conserve.
In the Gardens, horticulturalists work out the best way to grow plants.


Kew’s scientists and horticulturalists are involved in active plant conservation.

We help to propagate rare plants, increasing numbers so that there are enough for re-introduction programmes, to plant back into the wild.
The Millennium Seed Bank stores seeds as an insurance policy and makes them available to other researchers.


We also participate in legal, administrative and fund-raising work.

National and international conservation initiatives include checking trade in endangered species, and ensuring that people who use plants from the wild (e.g. for pharmaceuticals) do so with the agreement of the countries involved.
We raise money for plant conservation, for example through the Friends of Kew ‘Threatened Plants Appeal’.


Conserving wild plants is as much about how we approach life, as it is about researching and propagating wild species. We can all help to minimise our impact on the world’s natural resources.

Kew staff are developing environmentally friendly practices such as using peat-free potting compost, using water carefully, and recycling plant material back to the soil in our compost heaps.