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

Palms in rainforest

Palms as a model for rainforest evolution

07 Nov 2011

The first complete genus-level dated phylogeny of palms reveals insights into the evolution of rainforests.


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Miombo woodland Africa

Pesticidal plants in Miombo woodlands

02 Nov 2011

Plants used to control pests in Southern and Eastern Africa are being studied to enhance their value to resource-poor farmers in the region.


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A map showing all known collection sites of Solanum polhillii

Herbarium specimens document habitat change

26 Oct 2011

Botanists studying Solanum have used herbarium specimens to document vegetation change in Kenya, and have also described three new species.


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Curse of the bamboo flower

by: Charlotte Rowley, Library, Art and Archives blog
22 Aug 2011

A letter in the Directors' Correspondence archive describes how the deadly prediction of an old Chinese proverb about bamboo flowering came true.

From Chelsea to Mount Fuji, the legacy of Veitch Nurseries

by: Virginia Mills, Library, Art and Archives blog
20 May 2011

Harry Veitch brought the RHS flower show to Chelsea. His brother brought Japanese flora to Europe. Find out more about the Veitch's from Kew's Directors' Correspondence collection.

Take a walk on the wild side in the Archives

by: Sarah Cox, Library, Art and Archives blog
18 Apr 2011

Take a walk on the wild side with botanist and plant hunter Henry Ridley, as Sarah discovers his animal encounters!

Pressing plants in Bolivia

Kew's projects in Bolivia

05 Apr 2011

In Bolivia Kew has been working with local partners to identify conservation priorities, to support the development of protected areas and to catalogue the extraordinary diversity of the country's Compositae (daisy) family.


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Scanning electron micrographs of dissected floral buds of Polygala violacea (left) and P. gomesiana (right) (Image: M. Angélica Bello Gutierrez).

Development of keeled flowers

25 Mar 2011

A study using scanning electron microscopy has revealed that the keeled petals of Leguminosae and Polygalaceae are fundamentally different.


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Finding thriving specimens of a rare Caribbean shrub

by: Sara, Colin and Martin, UK Overseas Territories team blog
17 Mar 2011

Kew conservationists are thrilled to have identified a rare shrub at several previously unknown sites on Virgin Gorda in the Caribbean.

Everest sketch by Joseph Hooker, c.1848

Earliest European view of Everest found in Kew Archives

24 Feb 2011

A sketch by former Kew Director Joseph Hooker, found in Kew's archives, is thought to be one of the first recorded views of Mount Everest by a European.


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