New discoveries to science from Kew

Over 250 years, Kew has made many discoveries about the fascinating worlds of plants and fungi. Each year, many new species of plant and fungi are discovered by our world class scientists.

We discover new things about the plants and fungi every day. This includes how different species relate to one another and new ways to use plants to make life easier and better.

Plants are essential to life on earth. In a world where our changing environment is becoming less and less certain, the power of plants combined with Kew’s scientific expertise is ever more critical.

Support science and research at Kew | Go behind the scenes with Kew blogs

Phylogenetics of epiphytic cacti

DNA sequence analysis improves our understanding of the relationships between the epiphytic cacti.

Antarctic heroes

by: Christina Harrison, Kew magazine blog
17 Jan 2012
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the day Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his team reached the South Pole. But did you know that in the Joseph Hooker exhibition at Kew Gardens, you can see a letter from Scott to Sir Joseph Hooker?

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12 new flavonoids discovered in Kew tree

In the 2011 International Year of Forests, scientists report the discovery of 12 compounds new to science in a tree growing at Kew Gardens.

Trees influence epiphyte and invertebrate communities

Scientists have found that genetically similar tropical trees host similar species assemblages of epiphytes and invertebrates.

Nicholas Hind stacking boxes in herbarium

Linear sequences for seed plants

Scientists have been working out the best way to arrange plant specimens in herbaria and other collections so that their order best reflects evolutionary relationships.

Sir Joseph Hooker and the UK Overseas Territories

by: Pat Griggs, UK Overseas Territories team blog
09 Dec 2011
On the 100th anniversary of the death of one of the greatest botanists of the Victorian era, Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, find out about the unique plants that he encountered on his visits to the UKOTs and how this experience influenced his theories on plant distribution, which he later shared with Charles Darwin.