SIR JOSEPH DALTON HOOKER IN THE KEW ARCHIVE

Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker was born in Halesworth, Suffolk in 1917. The second son of Sir William Jackson Hooker, Joseph Hooker would, throughout the course of his life, become one of the most famous and lauded scientists of his day. At its pinnacle, Joseph Hooker's career would see him hold the post of Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew for 20 years (1865–1885), and be the first botanist after Joseph Banks to be elected President of the Royal Society between 1873 and 1878. His archives and letters, which are described here, are held in the Library, Art and Archives at Kew.     

Bidwill of the Bunya‐Bunya

The work of John Bidwill, first director of the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, is discussed with particular reference to his connections with William and Joseph Hooker, notably his early collecting in New Zealand and the living plants sent to and from Kew – especially Araucaria bidwillii – and his pioneering hybridising of ornamental plants.     

THE JOHN BRADBY BLAKE DRAWINGS IN THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM,LONDON: JOSEPH BANKS PUTS THEM TO WORK

In the last quarter of the 18th century, Joseph Banks came into possession of a set of botanically accurate, western‐influenced, drawings of Chinese plants, executed in Canton by a Chinese artist and supervised by John Bradby Blake, an East India Company supercargo. Banks realized that these drawings, now in the Natural History Museum, London, would help his collectors in Canton accurately identify the Chinese species he sought as living plants for the Royal Gardens at Kew. Banks commissioned a collector's manual whose illustrations were based on the Blake drawings. In the early 19th century, William Kerr used this manual (now unfortunately lost) to continue the Blake practice – these drawings are at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. John Reeves, many of whose drawings are at the Royal Horticultural Society, used Kerr's commissions to produce the next generation of botanical art in Canton.     

A brief history of conservation at the Royal Botanic Gardens,Kew

When Princess Augusta and Lord Bute, followed by Sir Joseph Banks and King George III, started gathering plants at Kew, conservation on the site can be said to have begun. Although the primary motive then was to assist the expansion of the British Empire and trade, rare plants were gathered and some became rare or extinct in the wild as their habitats were destroyed. The primary motive in the nineteenth century was not conservation, but the history of conservation at the Royal Gardens at Kew dates back to its very origins. Subsequent regimes at Kew maintained and added to the collections thereby adding to their conservation value. Many early collections are of species now listed within the IUCN categories of endangerment. Environmental awareness and concern had begun by the time that Professor Jack Heslop-Harrison became director and he was the first director actively to initiate specific conservation programmes such as seed banking and work on red data books. From then on conservation became an integral part of the work programme of Kew and the focus on conservation has increased with each subsequent director. This eventually led to the transformation of the embryonic seed banking activities into the Millennium Seed Bank, the largest and most important bank in the world for the conservation of the seeds of wild species. It currently holds just over ten percent of all seed plant species. Conservation at Kew over the past three decades has very much been a balance between ex situ work and in situ activities to help conservation in the overseas areas where Kew scientists have experience. Throughout the history of the gardens there has been a vital interest in economic botany that has developed from moving plants around the empire to much work on the sustainable use of plants and ecosystems thereby better equipping the institution to subsequently work on in situ conservation. Significant conservation activity at Kew has been possible because it is being supported by a solid research programme that includes such areas as systematics and molecular genetics and laboratories, a large herbarium and a large library. Kew has played an important role in stimulating conservation work elsewhere and such units as the Threatened Plants Unit of IUCN and Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) have their roots in Kew. Among other important conservation initiatives have been the creation of a unit to work with the implementation of the CITES treaty on the trade of endangered plants and a legal unit to work on issues of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). There is no doubt that the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew is at the forefront of plant conservation.     

RETRACING JOSEPH HOOKER'S ROUTES IN THE SIKKIM HIMALAYA

Joseph Hooker was one of the most widely travelled botanists of the Victorian period, having explored regions as far afield as Antarctica, Morocco and North America, though it is for his pioneering exploration of the Sikkim Himalaya that he is perhaps best remembered. Seamus O'Brien led four expeditions to this remote corner of the eastern Himalaya, and the results of these trips will appear in a new biography due to be published by Kew in 2018. He summarises that story here.     

Additions to the Wild Fauna and Flora of the Royal Botanic Gardens,Kew

Material from the Malaise trap operated by D. Baldock in 2002 continues to be identified and records of beetles omitted in previous supplements are listed here. Other casual records from various sources are also given. Tom Cope has continued his studies on the Wild Flora of the Gardens. Diego Fontaneto and Tim Barraclough collected rotifers in the gardens in November 2004. Members of the British Arachnological Society visited Kew on 10th September 2004 and a complete list of spiders and harvestmen found in the gardens is attempted.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
World Checklist and Bibliography of Conifers, by Alps Farjon
Mistletoes of Africa, by Roger Polhill & Delbert Wiens. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey     

THE MADAGASCAR ORCHID PROJECT Growing Orchids for Conservation

Summary. A collaborative project between the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Pare de Tsimbazaza Botanical Garden to cultivate and propagate the endemic orchids of Madagascar is described.     

英国邱园和外国人在中国的植物采集活动

英国邱园(Royal Botanic Gardens,Kew)是英国最大的植物标本保藏机构,也是世界顶级植物园之一。截止2012年12月31日,该园共有11 635份采自中国的植物标本,含206科1 102属6 056种植物。它们采自除黑龙江、吉林和天津以外的所有中国省份、直辖市和特别行政区,且90%以上的标本来自云南、四川、湖北、西藏、海南和台湾。绝大部分标本采集于1840-1949年间,也有一小部分集中在1975-2000年间。采集者来自多个国家,其中以爱尔兰人亨瑞(Augustine Henry)、英国人威尔逊(Ernest Henry Wilson)、英国人福利斯特(George Forrest)、法国人戴乐维(Pierre Jean Marie Delavay)和法国人卡瓦勒瑞(Pierre Julien Cavalerie)的贡献最大。邱园中采自中国的植物标本虽然绝大多数来自于西方人对中国植物资源的抢掠,但是对于早期中国植物学的研究以及《中国植物志》的编纂起到了极其重要的推动作用。     

The Coming of the Kauris

The introduction to Europe of species of Agathis , major timber trees (kauris) grown there as greenhouse ornamentals, is discussed. The importance of Sir Joseph Banks, Kew and the [Royal] Botanic Gardens Sydney is explained and the paramount historical significance of the kauris still growing in Sydney is stressed.     

THE ORCHID PAINTINGS OF MARIANNE NORTH

Summary. The Marianne North Gallery at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew includes many orchid paintings. The orchids depicted in the paintings, and Marianne North's travels in search of them, are described.     

The Botanic Garden of Trinity College Dublin 1687 to 1987

WYSE JACKSON, P. S., 1987. The Botanic Garden of Trinity College Dublin 1687 to 1987. The first botanic gardens in Europe were Physic Gardens. In Britain the earliest established was at Oxford (1621) and in Ireland at Trinity College Dublin (1687). Apart from a short-lived garden at Harold's Cross the Physic Garden remained in the College until 1806 when land was leased at Ballsbridge.
In 1804 James Townsend Mackay was appointed as gardener in the College, marking a change in the College to pure botany for the first time. The new Botanic Garden was created and cared for by Mackay for almost 60 years. He was succeeded as Curator in 1862 by John Bain, who was followed by Frederick Moore in 1877. In 1879 Moore succeeded his father David Moore as Curator of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin. Frederick W. Burbidge then came to the post of Curator from England in 1879.
The Curatorship of the garden was abolished from 1905 to 1981, and the Professor of Botany became Director. In 1967, when the lease of the College's land at Ballsbridge was ending, a new Botanic Garden was established at Dartry and the valuable plant collection was transferred. Today-it has a high national and international reputation and is widely used for botany teaching and research.     

THE SICH AND OTHER EXPEDITIONS TO CHINA AND THE FAR EAST, 1982–2003

Recent collecting expeditions from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Quarryhill Botanic Garden, California and the Howick Arboretum in Northumberland, are listed and some of the noteworthy plants which have been introduced are described.     

947. ROSA MAXIMOWICZIANA

Rosa maximowicziana Regel is illustrated from specimens growing in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The position of the species in the genus is discussed, and its distribution and habitats are given.     

The Role of a Modern Botanic Garden: the Evolution of Kew

The history of botanic gardens in the United Kingdom is sketched out with particular reference to the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and its changing role to meet societal requirements over 250 years. Kew's position as a modem scientific institution confronting today's environmental issues through its Breathing Planet Programme yet retaining its heritage buildings and collections is pinpointed.     

The Role of a Modern Botanic Garden:the Evolution of Kew

The history of botanic gardens in the United Kingdom is sketched out with particular reference to the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and its changing role to meet societal requirements over 250 years.Kew’s position as a modern scientific institution confronting today’s environmental issues through its Breathing Planet Programme yet retaining its heritage buildings and collections is pinpointed.     

740. STAUNTONIA HEXAPHYLLA

Stauntonia hexaphylla (Thunb.) Decne. is described and illustrated from plants cultivated at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Its uses in Japan are discussed and the history of introduction of the species to Europe is described.     

美口菌属的新种

本文报道了美口菌属Calostoma的2个新种:新加坡美口菌Calostoma singaporense Fan et Liu sp.nov.和柱纹孢美口菌Calostoma brookei Fan et Liu sp.nov.,前者由R.E.Holttum于1925年采自新加坡;后者由W.M.A.Brooke于1914年和F.T.Brooke于1925年采自马来西亚。模式标本保存在英国皇家植物园(丘园)标本馆。     

1060. Delphinium caucasicum C.A.Mey: Ranunculaceae

Delphinium caucasicum C.A. Mey. is illustrated from plants cultivated at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Its history, nomenclature and ecology are described and instructions for its successful cultivation are given.