Science and conservation news
Keep up to date with the latest science and conservation news and blogs from Kew. Here you will find all the latest articles about our work in the UK and around the world. Research news of interest to specialists is reported in our specialist science news page and our newsletter Kew Scientist.
Specialist science news | Go behind the scenes with Kew blogs
African anti-thrips plant
28 Mar 2012
A plant in Kew’s Temperate House has been found to contain compounds toxic to thrips.
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Swapping seeds in the name of food diversity
by: Vanessa Sutcliffe, Millennium Seed Bank blog21 Mar 2012
Join Vanessa Sutcliffe, Millennium Seed Bank Training Specialist, as she gets ready to organise the next Great Seed Swap taking place at Wakehurst on Saturday 20 October 2012.
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Describing the coastal dry forests of northern Mozambique
21 Mar 2012
A recent publication defines and characterises the coastal dry forests found in northern Mozambique and assesses their present extent, botanical composition and conservation importance.
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Sympatric speciation contributes to island biodiversity
14 Mar 2012
Scientists discover at least 11 examples of sympatric speciation on Lord Howe Island.
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Falklands’ unique plants all in safe storage
by: Richard Lewis, UK Overseas Territories team blog06 Mar 2012
All thirteen of the Falklands’ unique plant species are now being preserved at Kew's Millennium Seed Bank. Botanist Richard Lewis recently managed to track down seed-bearing plants of the silvery buttercup, the thirteenth species, in remote valleys on Weddell Island.
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Plant diversification in the Cape of South Africa
06 Mar 2012
Research suggests that the high levels of biodiversity in the Cape of South Africa have been promoted by a combination of complex environmental conditions and climatic stability.
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Discovering common fungi
29 Feb 2012
A PhD student helps to discover a new class of fungi.
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Collections from the Caribbean
by: David Hickmott, Millennium Seed Bank blog 28 Feb 2012
Follow a Millennium Seed Bank collector on an expedition to the Dominican Republic to save threatened and useful plants.
- 74 likes
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‘Polyunsaturates’ not good for booklice
22 Feb 2012
Research at Kew is investigating ways to protect library, museum and herbarium collections from damage caused by booklice.
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A first flowering for Kew
by: Marcella Corcoran, UK Overseas Territories team blog17 Feb 2012
With the appearance of a tiny greenish-white flower, Kew’s horticulturists have recorded the first flowering in cultivation of Metastelma anegadense, a plant found only on the low-lying island of Anegada in the Caribbean.
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Specialist science news
A new typology of seed development in late winter-flowering temperate woodland plants
23 May 2013
Research at the Millennium Seed Bank (RBG Kew) and the University of Reading has identified a new typology of seed development.
What are hard seeds for?
14 May 2013
A new hypothesis has been proposed on why some seeds are hard.
Is our daily cup of coffee under threat?
08 Nov 2012
A new study from Kew suggests that Arabica coffee could be extinct in the wild within 70 years.
Director (CEO and Chief Scientist) of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew to return to Australia
14 Sep 2011
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew announced today that Director (CEO and Chief Scientist), Professor Stephen Hopper FLS will step down in autumn 2012 after six years in the job.
