Bramley, Gemma L.C.

Job Title

Lamiaceae Team Leader

Department

Herbarium, Library, Art & Archives

Section

Systematics

Science Teams:

Joined Kew: 2004

Foreign Language(s): Spanish (basic)

Qualifications & Appointments

BA (Hons), Univ. Oxford (Somerville College), 2000
PhD, Univ. Edinburgh, 2003.
MSc (Science Communication), Imperial College 2010
Systematics Association Council Member
Kew Bulletin Editorial Board
Edinburgh Journal of Botany Editorial Board
 

 

 

Role

Lead, co-ordinate and conduct research and other related work on the Lamiaceae and its close relatives.

Managing the Lamiaceae team in the Herbarium, Library, Art and Archives (HLAA) and guiding its research strategy; co-leader of Kew's cross-departmental Lamiaceae team. Curation of Kew’s Lamiaceae and Gesneriaceae collections and systematic research on the two families. Co-ordinator of the Lamiaceae accounts for Flora Malesiana, Flora of Peninsular Malaysia and Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak. Taxonomic research has focused on the genus Callicarpa (Lamiaceae). Responsibility for maintaining and updating the Interactive Key to the Genera of Lamiaceae, created by Nina Davies in 2007/8.
Co-lead taxonomic work on Cyrtandra (Gesneriaceae) through a collaboration with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden and the Smithsonian Institute; overall aims: to complete an account of the genus for Flora Malesiana, to produce a comprehensive phylogeny of the genus, and to use these results to explore strategies for tackling large genera.
Co-organiser of the Kew Tropical Plant Identification Course, which hosts up to 18 students from around the world each year. Co-editor of Tropical ID course handbook, authored by Kew experts, that is expected to become the definitive reference work for tropical plant identification.
Liaison between HLAA and the Content and Learning Team to support public engagement and promote the work of the HLAA to wider audiences.
 

Projects

Selected Recent Publications

  • Walsingham, L. & Bramley, G.L.C. (2010) A revision of Gomphostemma (Lamiaceae) in Sabah and Sarawak. Kew Bulletin 65: 479-485.

  • Bramley, G.L.C., Forest, F. & de Kok, R.P.J. (2009) Troublesome tropical mints: re-examining Vitex (Lamiaceae) and its relations in South East Asia. Taxon 58: 500-510.

  • Paton, A.J., Bramley, G., Ryding, O., Polhill, R.M., Harvey, Y.B., Iwarson, M., Willis, F., Phillipson, P.B., Balkwill, K., Lukhoba, C.W., Otiend, D.F. & Harley, R.M. (2009) Lamiaceae (Labiatae) for Flora of Tropical East Africa, eds. Beentje, H.J., Ghanzanfar, S.A. & Polhill, R.M., Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK.
     

  • Davies, N., Kirkup, D. & Bramley, G.L.C. (2009) Interactive Key to the Genera of Lamiaceae. Published online: http://www.kew.org/herbarium/keys/lamiales/

  • Bramley, G.L.C. (2009) The genus Callicarpa (Lamiaceae) on Borneo. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 159: 416-455.

Selected Earlier Publications

  • Bramley, G.L.C. (2006) Two new species of Pycnostachys (Lamiaceae) from Tropical Africa. Kew Bulletin 60: 587-592.

  • Bramley, G.L.C. (2005) Revision of Cyrtandra Section Dissimiles (Gesneriaceae). Blumea 50: 163-189.

  • Bramley, G.L.C., Pennington, R.T., Zakaria, R., Tjitrosoedirdjo, S.S. & Cronk, Q.C.B. (2004). Assembly of tropical plant diversity on a local scale: Cyrtandra (Gesneriaceae) on Mount Kerinci, Sumatra. Biol. Journ. Linn. Soc. 81: 49-62.

  • Bramley, G.L.C., Weber, A. & Cronk, Q.C.B. (2004). The Cyrtandra (Gesneriaceae) species of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. Edinburgh J. Bot. 60: 331-360.

  • Bramley, G.L.C. & Cronk, Q.C.B. (2003). The Cyrtandra (Gesneriaceae) species of Mount Kerinci, Sumatra. Harvard Pap. Bot. 7: 407-421.

Scientific Research & Data

Sign up to Kew News
See your favourite reasons to visit