Botanical Research China Williams Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
Botanical Research China Williams Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew c. williams@kew. org
Kew collections ‘to inspire and deliver science based plant conservation worldwide, enhancing the quality of life’ • • Herbarium (dried & spirit collections) - baseline data, taxonomic study, ecology, conservation Jodrell Laboratories (DNA bank, fungal herbarium, pollen and wood slides) - Molecular systematics, plant anatomy, phylogenies, sustainable use projects Horticulture (live plants) - public display, horticulture, reintroduction programmes, habitat restoration Millennium Seed Bank - seed morphology, restoration ecology Funding: government, private companies, research institutes etc
Fieldwork 80 -90 collecting expeditions each year • Permission to collect, use, export material (national law, permits) – PIC • Work with local partners through long term agreements -MAT • Fieldwork Committee
Plant exchange with other institutions 40 – 50 thousand herbarium specimens 4 -5 thousand seeds 3 -5 thousand live plants 5 thousand DNA samples • Use exchange tools (MTAs) to track acquisition, use, supply • Keep terms/restrictions with material • Staff training
wild plant duplicates to other herbaria electronic images (available to taxonomists outside the institution) Herbarium specimens live seeds silica-dried material anatomical specimens purified DNA (in DNA bank) data for conservation assessments, maps etc taxonomic data & trees of life genetic info databases e. g. Gen. Bank Propagation/breeding cryopreserved seeds (in seed bank) Other seed banks Living collections in garden Reintroduced to wild other samples & compounds Progeny in own & other collections
Curation systems…
Benefits from collections Generally non-monetary & often indirect • Library of information – identification tools, phylogenies, conservation assessments, vegetation maps • Education, training, capacity building • Joint research and publications
Information sharing • Taxonomic databases • Specimen digitisation projects – Databasing, georeferencing, imaging • Digitised floras • Other images & illustrations • Bibliographies ©SANBI
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