Search and rescue
Conserving plants and fungi has never been more urgent, yet the pace at which habitats are shrinking and species being lost continues to outstrip attempts to protect them.
Until that is reversed, the most effective way to protect the diversity of plants and fungi is to identify the species at greatest risk and those regions likely to lose their wild species soonest, and tackle their problems first.
Kew's Breathing Planet Programme (pdf) | Help Kew: Adopt a seed for £25
Mapping the world's plant life
Mapping the distribution of the world's plant life over time plays a crucial role in Kew's plant conservation work.
Browse some of the recent maps that Kew's GIS (Global Information Systems) Unit have produced below, and find out more about how they help scientists and conservationists at Kew save plant life worldwide and share vital information with the global science community.
Plants at risk
A global analysis of extinction risk for the world's plants has revealed that the world’s plants are as threatened as mammals, with one in five of the world’s plant species threatened with extinction.
The study, entitled IUCN Sampled Red List Index for Plants, is a major baseline for plant conservation and is the first time that the true extent of the threat to the world’s estimated 380,000 plant species is known. Use Kew's interactive maps and charts to find out more about the state of the world's plant life.
Prioritising plant species for conservation
One way to save a plant species that is endangered in the wild is to store its seed. This gives the chance of growing new stock from the seed for reintroduction, should the plant become extinct in its natural habitat. But how do Kew’s scientists choose which plants to prioritise for seed collection?
Search & Rescue
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Science & Conservation news
Mapping the Harapan Rainforest - how we did it
by: Jenny Williams, GIS team blog 24 May 2012
Find out how Kew's GIS unit used remote sensing and field work to produce vegetation maps for the Harapan Rainforest Project.
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Launching the UKOTs Online Herbarium
by: Sara Barrios, UK Overseas Territories team blog 22 May 2012
We are bringing the unique and amazing plants that grow in the UKOTs, including those from the Caribbean, a little closer to you in celebration of International Day of Biological Diversity. Just a shame we can't bring the Caribbean weather too!
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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.
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.
