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Revisiting the Madagascan suicide palm
Understanding plant chromosome evolution
Michael Chester, Research Fellow in Plant Resources at Kew, reports on his research on plant chromosomes and the potential of technological advances in DNA sequencing.
Priority conifer seed collecting from the Pacific Slope
CITES CoP17 plants: recent decisions in global trade
Trade in threatened medicinal plants - why plant names matter
Jason Irving, from Kew’s Medicinal Plant Names Services (MPNS) project, explains why plant names pose practical problems for the regulation of international trade in medicinal plants, and what Kew is doing to help.
Sustaining life and agriculture in the Peruvian desert
Kew scientist Oliver Whaley describes recent research in the Peruvian desert, working with large-scale farms to research, safeguard and restore plants.
Growing our knowledge of grasses
Maria Vorontsova, Research Leader in Comparative Plant & Fungal Biology discusses the importance of grasses and reflects on Growing the Grass Classification: an international scientific meeting which took place in July.
Collections and conservation
Kew scientists Sonia Dhanda and Iain Darbyshire explain how Kew’s herbarium specimens are used to contribute to conservation through the Tropical Important Plant Areas (TIPAs) programme.
Managing diabetes with medicinal plants
Kew goes to the Flora Malesiana 10 symposium
Kew scientists report back after attending a symposium focused on South-East Asian taxonomy, systematics and conservation.
Taming the Savage Cabbage
Medicinal properties of succulent plants
Olwen Grace, Research Leader in Comparative Plant and Fungal Biology, and PhD student Madeleine Ernst from the University of Copenhagen, discuss evolutionary studies of the medicinal value of succulent plants.
Tropical Important Plant Areas in the British Virgin Islands
Kew’s UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs) team recently returned from a successful launch of the Tropical Important Plant Areas project in the British Virgin Islands. Rosemary Newton reflects on the highlights of this trip.
Madagascar's orphans of extinction
Plants and conflict landscapes – the Somme and beyond
James Wearn and Andrew Budden describe the context for their recent expedition to the Somme, and explain how Kew’s former Director, Sir Arthur Hill, inspired their research.
Extreme survival of seeds on Earth and in space
Anne Visscher from Kew’s Comparative Plant and Fungal Biology department discusses extreme survival of seeds on Earth and a research proposal to send seeds to the International Space Station to test their survival in outer space.
The diversity of terra incognita: predicting orchid species richness in New Guinea
André Schuiteman, Research Leader in Identification and Naming, explains how we can predict the species richness of unexplored areas.
What inspires a research idea?
Alex Monro, Research Leader in Identification & Naming, explains how he developed a proposal to understand and evaluate the importance of wet, high elevation oak forests for conservation in Latin America.
Training the trainers in Guinea
In February 2016, Kew Africa and Madagascar team members Martin Cheek, Charlotte Couch and Isabel Larridon travelled to Guinea in West-Africa for fieldwork and to train local botanists.
Hidden poisons in rhododendron nectar
Philip Stevenson (Plant Chemist) and Alison Scott-Brown (Plant/Insect Ecologist) from Kew’s Natural Capital and Plant Health department report on the toxicity of natural chemicals in the nectar and leaves of Rhododendron.