People
Wilford, Richard
| Job Title | Alpine & Herbaceous Collections Manager |
|---|---|
| Department | Horticulture and Public Education |
| Section | Horticulture and Public Education: Hardy Display section |
| Science Teams |
Lamiaceae |
| Joined Kew | |
| Foreign Language(s) |
Qualifications & Appointments
BSc (Hons), Biology, Southampton Univ., 1986
Editorial Committee, Curtis’s Botanical Magazine
Daffodil and Tulip trials subcommittee, Royal Horticultural Society
Role
Management of the Alpine and Herbaceous Units, including research collections of Salvia and bulbous plants such as Iris and Tulipa.
Managing the staff and plant collections in the Alpine and Herbaceous Units of the Hardy Display Section of HPE. The collections in the Herbaceous Unit include the Systematic Order Beds, Rock Garden and the recently planted Salvia border. The Salvia border was designed to show the range of species and cultivars in the genus and provide an attractive feature that could be used to highlight Kew’s work on this family. The Alpine Unit includes the Woodland Garden, with its extensive collections of Epimedium and other herbaceous Berberidaceae, studied for the recent monograph by the late Prof. Stearn, and Erythronium. The Alpine nursery holds a large collection of bulbous plants, including the National Collection of ‘Juno’ Iris, which is being studied for a proposed monograph. Other important collections include Hyacinthaceae, Tulipa, Allium and Fritillaria. All the monocot genera are used as part of the molecular studies in the Jodrell Lab. Role includes the maintenance of these collections, and the acquisition of new material, ensuring as much data as possible is recorded when new plants/seeds are accessioned. Collections can be built up to support research and then distributed to other interested parties, within or outside Kew, once they are no longer being worked on. One area of personal interest is Tulipa, the subject of a recent book, published in February 2006.
Projects
Ex Situ Conservation of Threatened Chilean Flora Through Propagation
Systematics and Conservation Genetics of Liliales
Selected Publications 2001-2005
Mathew, B. & Wilford, R. (2001). Plant portraits Tulipa regelii. Liliaceae. Curtis's Botanical Magazine 18(1): 6-11.
Wilford, R. (2001). Rock garden peonies. Alpine Gardener 69: 197-204.
Wilford, R.A. (2002). Roscoea cautleoides. Rock Garden Quarterly 60(2): 126-128.
Wilford, R.A. (2003). Siberian irises. In Atkins, R. (ed) Plant profiles. London: BBC Books. 140-147.
Wilford, R. (2005). Tulipa orthopoda. RHS Daffodil and Tulip Yearbook 2005-2006: 78-79.
Selected Publications pre-2001
Boyce, P.C., Brewster, P. & Wilford, R. (1995). Cultivation of aroids at Kew. Curtis's Botanical Magazine 12: 168-173.
Grey-Wilson, C. & Wilford, R. (1998). Cyclamen colchicum. Curtis's Botanical Magazine 15: 180-185.
Wilford, R. (1999). Roscoeas for the rock garden. Quarterly Bulletin of the Alpine Garden Society 67: 93-101.
Wilford, R. (2000). Siberian Irises. Gardens Illustrated 53: 56-63.
Wilford, R. (2000). The cultivation of Fritillaria species at Kew. Curtis's Botanical Magazine 17: 149-154.