Williams, Emma V.

Job Title

Millennium Seed Bank Partnership Herbarium Liaison Officer

Department

Herbarium, Library, Art and Archives

Section

Regional Teams

Science Teams:

Joined Kew: 2002

Foreign Language(s): French (basic)

Qualifications & Appointments

BSc (Hons), Biology, Univ. Wales (Aberystwyth), 2000

MSc, Pure and Applied Plant and Fungal Taxonomy, Univ. Reading, 2001

Role

Identify and curate herbarium specimens collected by the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership.


Identify and curate herbarium specimens collected by the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership (MSBP) with a focus on the African, Arabian and North American flora. Responsible for maintaining the “MSBP Taxon Database” to ensure the species names for the seed collections follow the latest global checklists. Collect and process information from the Herbarium and Library to help in the planning of expeditions and targeting of species. Participate in MSBP fieldtrips. Liaise with and provide advice and training to MSBP staff and partner institutions on plant identification, herbarium specimen curation and seed collecting. Interest in the conservation of the Afromontane flora of East Africa, including seed banking, conservation assessments and species recovery.
 

Selected Recent Publications

  • York E & Muthoka P. 2010 Seed banking in the Afroalpine region in Kenya, Scripta Bot. Belg. 46:506. AETFAT XIX-Madagascar