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 ...

Joanne Yeomans explores how Kew has inspired people including royalty throughout its history and introduces a new exhibition at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art which celebrates this. The ...

Global species assessments, in which every extant species in a taxonomic group is systematically assessed, have been conducted only for very few plant groups such as cycads, conifers, mangroves and ...

Discover our science collections that have been growing for over 170 years and the other collections we hold. Or search our resources and research facilities to find support for your research. Find ...

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 ...

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 ...

I lead the Accelerated Taxonomy department, responsible for achieving the Initiatives set out in Kew’s Science Strategy on Documenting Biodiversity, building the Tree of Life, Innovating Species ...

Join us for a sensory guided walking tour, led by one of Kew’s specially-trained tour guides. Each tour is different to take in seasonal highlights across the Gardens. These tours are free, and free ...

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 ...