People
Taylor, Nigel
| Job Title | Curator (Head), Horticulture & Public Education |
|---|---|
| Department | Horticulture and Public Education |
| Section | Curator |
| Science Teams |
Conventions and Policies Drylands: Tropical America |
| Joined Kew | |
| Foreign Language(s) | Portuguese, Spanish (basic), German (basic) |
Qualifications & Appointments
BSc (Hons), Univ. Reading, 1977
PhD, Open Univ., 2000.
Plant Sciences Advisory Board, University of Reading
Cactus & Succulent Specialist Group, IUCN-SSC (Secretary 1984–1988, Vice Chair 1989–1996, Chair 1997–98)
Trustee, Castle Howard Arboretum Trust
Editorial Board, Kew, Kew Bulletin (1996–2005) & Curtis’s Botanical Magazine (1995–2005)
Chair, Overseas Fieldwork Committee, RBG Kew
Executive Board, UK PlantNetwork (1999–2005)
Editorial Advisory Board, BBC gardening magazines
Community Governor, Darell School, Kew.
Role
Taxonomy and conservation of Cactaceae; botanical nomenclature; botany and history of cultivated plants; flora of Eastern Brazil; botanic gardens management.
Taxonomy of cultivated plants, especially those where living collections are essential for a proper understanding of characters and relationships. Principal focus over the last 30 years has been systematics of Cactaceae and their conservation (especially in connexion with the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species and IUCN Red Listing), including some supervision of postgraduate students and refereeing of papers, while the current major spare time project is the ‘New Cactus Lexicon’ (scheduled for publication in the first half of 2006). Many other plant groups of importance for horticulture have also been included (>180 publications), especially other succulents and hardy woody plants, with a secondary emphasis placed on botanical nomenclature (including participation at Nomenclature Sessions of the last 4 IBCs). At the Kew site, main responsibilities include management of c. 200 staff involved with the living collections in support of science, conservation, public education, horticultural training and amenity. Member of Kew Director’s team (the ‘Senior Team’) and Chair of Kew’s Overseas Fieldwork Committee (OFC), with corporate oversight of expedition best practice in line with the Convention on Biological Diversity, and provision of expedition funding via the OFC budget (and TOBU Committee for SE Asia only). Also, Kew contact for UNESCO World Heritage programme.
Projects
CITES: UK Scientific Authority
Plant Diversity and Conservation in Bolivia
Repatriation of Herbarium Data for Northeastern Brazil
Selected Publications 2001-2005
Taylor, N., Stuppy, W. & Barthlott, W. (2002). Realignment and revision of the Opuntioideae of Eastern Brazil. Succulent Plant Research 6: 99–132.
Taylor, N. (2003). Iconotypes and cacti in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine. Curtis’s Botanical Magazine 20: 177–185.
Taylor, N. & Zappi, D. (2004). Cacti of Eastern Brazil. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 499 pp.
Machado, M.C., Zappi, D.C., Borba, E.L. & Taylor, N. (2005). Taxonomy and conservation of the Discocactus Pfeiff. (Cactaceae) species occurring in the state of Bahia, Brazil. Bradleya 23: 41–56.
Selected Publications pre-2001
Eggli, U. & Taylor, N. (eds) (1991) IOS Index of names of Cactaceae published 1950–1990. Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 222 pp.
Taylor, N. (1991) The Genus Melocactus in Central and South America. British Cactus & Succulent Society & Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. [Reprinted from Bradleya 9: 1–80 (1991)]. 80 pp.
Anderson, E.F., Arias Montes, S. & Taylor, N.P. (1994). Threatened Cacti of Mexico. Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 136 pp.
Barthlott, W. & Taylor, N. (1995). Notes towards a monograph of Rhipsalideae (Cactaceae). Bradleya 13: 43–79.
Taylor, N., Kiesling, R. & Kraus, R. (1997). South America. In Oldfield, S. (comp.) Cactus and Succulent Plants - Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN/SSC Cactus and Succulent Specialist Group. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. 111–127.