Malagasy people have been using Madagascar’s unique native plants for food, medicine and handcrafts for thousands of years.

In Incan mythology, Mama Koka was the god of the coca plant which originally grew from her torn apart body. Today, coca ...

Gwil arrived at Kew in October 1974, not as a trained taxonomist but as a keen gardener, with a degree in botany and fresh ...

Whilst we were closed, we lost vital income that supported our world-class horticultural and conservation work. We need your help more than ever to protect the future of Kew. If you can't get to the ...

Join us at Kew Gardens for Kew MSc Open Day on 9 April 2025 (Wed) for a chance to find out more about our MSc programmes ...

A letter in the Directors' Correspondence archive describes how the deadly prediction of an old Chinese proverb about bamboo flowering came true. "When the bamboo flowers, famine, death and ...

This unique collection of botanical art celebrates the beauty of nature in exquisite scientific detail – from an age before photography until the present day. The gallery captures the endless variety ...

Gerhard Prenner, researcher in plant morphology and anatomy, presents his recent studies on Abrus precatorius, a "deadly beauty" with fascinating flowers and inflorescences. The genus Abrus consists ...

Recently-released IUCN Red List assessments for slipper orchids from the temperate Northern Hemisphere show that a shocking 79% of species are threatened with extinction. Mike Fay, Head of Genetics ...

Under the microscope, any wood shows a number of distinctive characteristics determined by the growth pattern of the tree which produced it. Using light and electron microscopes to examine thin ...

Revolving around a humble seed, we cover nearly everything from seed morphology and digestive problems to the beautiful smell of racing car engines and James Bond-style murder. Known as 'castor beans' ...

Like other gourds, the snake gourd is a member of the pumpkin family (Cucurbitaceae) and has seeds similar to its cousin the water melon (Citrullus lanatus), although slightly more eccentric, sporting ...