Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Kew
Dec 18, 2024 · Discover a world of science hiding behind our beautiful botanical collections filled with over 40,000 living plants
Ginkgo tree - Ginkgo biloba | Plants - Kew
The ginkgo tree is classified as Endangered according to the IUCN Red List and has also been given a high priority conservation status by the Evolutionary Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) method.. Living gymnosperms (naked-seed-bearing plants that include ginkgos, conifers, cycads, and gnetophytes) are one of the most threatened groups of living organisms on the planet, with 40% of ...
Cyanotypes: The origins of photography | Kew
Feb 28, 2023 · Anna Atkins: The first photo book. Anna Atkins produced what is known as the first photographic illustrated book, Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions, in 1843. Atkins was a talented illustrator but wanted to find a more accurate way to depict the structure of a …
Mycelium: Exploring the hidden dimension of fungi | Kew
Making the connection. The mycelium also plays a crucial role in fungal reproduction. The mycelia of two compatible fungi can fuse together, allowing the cells of each fungus to combine and their DNA to mix.
Striking seasonal wonders of the Lesser Sundas | Kew
Dec 18, 2020 · Stretching from Bali to Timor, the Lesser Sunda islands are covered in seasonal tropical forests that are home to unique flora and fauna, including the world’s largest lizard the Komodo dragon and 74 bird species found nowhere else.
7 interesting things about moss - Kew
May 23, 2020 · 1. They're ancient plants. Mosses are non-flowering plants which produce spores and have stems and leaves, but don't have true roots. Mosses, and their cousins liverworts and hornworts, are classified as Bryophyta (bryophytes) in the plant kingdom.
Mistletoe - Viscum album - Kew
Mistletoe is a small woody shrub with a roughly spherical shape that can reach around 1m across. It grows on the branches of other trees, attached by a swelling known as a haustorium.
Sunflower - Helianthus annuus - Kew
Sunflowers can remove toxic elements from soils, like lead and uranium, and have been used in clean-up operations at both Chernobyl and Fukushima.. As ornamentals, there are a wide variety of sunflower cultivars, including ‘Aztec Sun’, ‘Mongolian Giant’ and ‘Teddy Bear’.. Despite their name, sunflower seeds are actually the fruit of the sunflower, known as an ‘achene’.
Titan arum - Amorphophallus titanum | Plants - Kew
Titan arum has the world’s largest unbranched inflorescence (flowering structure) that can reach 3m tall.. When titan arum bloomed for the second time at Kew in 1926, it attracted such big crowds that the police were called to control them.. When in bloom, titan arum’s flower spike (spadix) produces heat.
Coca – much more than a drug source - Kew
Jul 10, 2024 · What is coca? Coca plants belong to a group of 270 species of the genus Erythroxylum.Just two of these tropical plants are cultivated by people at scale: E. novogranatense in the drier regions and E. coca in humid forest areas of the South American continent. Coca grows as a small, bushy plant, with tiny flowers and bright red fruits sprouting in groups along the length of its long thin branches.