Specialist science news
Keep up to date with specialist science news from Kew. Find out more about the latest research and projects that scientists and conservationists at Kew are involved in.
Palmweb continues to grow
07 Mar 2011
Palmweb is a growing online encyclopaedia on palms which now contains descriptions of all genera and about half of all palm species.
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Grassland restoration at Wakehurst
03 Mar 2011
Experiments are in progress at Bloomers Valley at Wakehurst to determine the best methods for restoring semi-natural grassland of lowland meadows.
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New views on the role of fire in the evolution of Mediterranean plants
01 Mar 2011
A new review of the characteristics of plants in Mediterranean climate regions has found little evidence that fire has played an important part in the diversification of the flora, contrary to previously held views.
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Chemistry aids conservation
01 Mar 2011
Scientists at Kew have discovered that a chemical present in Brazilian rosewood (Dalbergia nigra) can be used to identify imports of timber from this species that contravene international regulations, so aiding conservation.
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Biogeography of Protea in the Cape
22 Feb 2011
Scientists are trying to understand the high diversity of plant species in the South African Cape by studying one of the region’s iconic genera – Protea.
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Cameroon conservation checklists
14 Feb 2011
The fifth and sixth books in the Cameroon Conservation Checklist series have been published, covering the regions of Dom and the Lebialem Highlands of Cameroon.
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Barcoding African river-weeds
11 Feb 2011
Scientists from Kew and the University of Ghana have tested the DNA barcode in a study of African river-weeds (Podostemaceae).
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Carnations show the fastest known diversification rate in plants
27 Jan 2011
Scientists have discovered the most rapid speciation event currently known in plants – not in plants from the biodiverse rainforests or oceanic islands, but in the genus Dianthus in Europe.
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New compounds from Old Lions
20 Jan 2011
During Kew’s 250th anniversary year, researchers at Kew studied the chemistry of two of Kew’s ‘Old Lions’ and discovered nine natural substances new to science.
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Botanical surveys of the coastal forests of Mozambique
13 Jan 2011
Fieldwork in the coastal forests of northern Mozambique has so far led to the discovery of 20 new species and 50 species not previously recorded in the country.
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Science & Conservation
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Science & Conservation news
Study finds sixty percent of UK species in decline
22 May 2013
Kew has contributed to a groundbreaking report on the state of wildlife in the UK in time for International Day of Biological Diversity. It reveals that 60% of species studied have declined over recent decades.
Conserving Darwin's Letters
by: Eleanor Hasler, Library, Art and Archives blog 17 May 2013
Discover more about the conservation work carried out on one of the most important, popular and fascinating collection in the Archives.
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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.
World's smallest waterlily brought back from the brink of extinction at Kew
18 May 2010
Kew’s top propagation ‘code-breaker’, horticulturist Carlos Magdalena, has cracked the enigma of growing a rare species of African waterlily. The 'thermal’ lily (Nymphaea thermarum) is believed to be the smallest waterlily in the world, with pads that can be as little as 1 cm in diameter.
