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Kew Scientist Spring 2011 Issue 39 News from The Living Collections, The Herbarium and The Laboratories at Kew & M.Sacande Farmers planting seedlings of Carapa procera, Gardenia sokotensis, Khaya senegalensis and Senna alata in a communal garden in Mali for use as natural pesticides. Tree planting in Africa

The United Nations MSBP intends to conserve 25% of plant species has declared 2011 as seed and make seed available for sustainable as the International use in agriculture, horticulture, forestry and Year of Forests to habitat restoration (Strategy 5 of Kew’s new raise awareness Breathing Planet Programme — ‘Save seed and of sustainable prosper’). One use of the scientific knowledge management and generated from the MSBP seed collections is to Save seed and prosper conservation of solve impediments to wild plant propagation. In M.Sacande forests. In Africa, as in many parts of the a recent initiative the MSBP, through its African world, communities are highly and directly partners, has been using its expertise in seed dependent on a diverse range of useful forest handling and germination to support local, Farmers in Mali receiving training in nursery techniques for seedling production. products and services for food, health and government and NGO-led tree propagation a variety of livelihood activities. These wild and planting schemes by the provision of resources are often over exploited, so the advice and training. The planting schemes will enable domestication and cultivation of forest species communities to benefit from their native is necessary to address the needs of the local During 2010, nearly 62,000 seedlings of useful tree species in a sustainable way. people and reduce the pressure on natural 203 tree species were produced in the Following the initial success of MSBP populations. However, the complexity of this initiative, and over 90% of these seedlings involvement, discussions are underway process, requiring biological and ecological have been planted out. In Mali tree seedlings to scale up the initiative. This would research on candidate species, has long been were planted in village woodlands, sacred consolidate the opportunity for the MSBP to a factor limiting the planting programmes of forests, schools and home gardens to mark play a significant part in the afforestation, many forestry and horticulture departments in the 50th anniversary of independence of restoration, preservation of biodiversity developing countries. the country from France, and in Ghana and sustainable use of wild tree species, (where the VodaFone Foundation has helped and contribute to the International Year of The Millennium Seed Bank Partnership (MSBP) support the MSBP programme) seedlings Forests 2011. is a repository for the seed of over 10% of were planted in cocoa farms. Species planted Contact: Dr Moctar Sacande ([email protected]) the world’s flowering plants, and by 2020 the in these countries included Securidaca longepedunculata, Erythrina senegalensis, Researchers at Kew, the Natural Resources Institute (UK) and the World Agroforestry Centre (Southern Garcinia kola, Tetrapleura tetraptera, species Africa Programme) have reviewed the roles that of Terminalia and Spondias mombin. Some phytochemical screening and in vitro propagation techniques have to play in reducing over-harvesting of schemes resulted in certain tree species, medicinal and pesticidal plants and generating income for the rural poor. Plant Cell Rep., in press, doi: 10.1007/ such as Pseudocedrela kotschyi, Pterocarpus s00299-011-1047-5. santalinoides and Gardenia nitida, being Contact: Dr Viswambharan Sarasan cultivated for the first time. ([email protected])

1 Direction Awards Conserving trees Paul Smith was named in a list of the 100 most important contemporary figures in British science published by The Times in its Eureka magazine. and forests The Kew Plant Glossary (by Henk Beentje; Kew Publishing, 2010) won Reference Book of The newly created the Year at the Garden Media Guild 2010 Awards (1 December, 2010). Other Kew books, Directorate of Kew Magazine and Kew’s website were finalists. Conservation, Living Collections and Estates PhDs at the Royal Botanic Henk Beentje (left) Gardens, Kew offers The following students, co-supervised by Kew receiving the Garden Media Guild Award. an opportunity to staff, passed their PhD vivas recently: bring together science, Jennifer Ison, ‘Pollination of Echinacea horticulture and policy to address the big angustifolia: effects of flowering phenology issues effecting plant conservation. None and spatial isolation’ (October 2010). could be bigger than the need to conserve Sharon Zytynska, ’The genetic basis to species our trees and forests. interactions in model and natural ecosystems’ Kew is well known for its extensive (November 2010) collection of living trees. has Cynthia Sothers, ‘Systematics of Couepia 14,000 trees, representing some 5,000 (Chrysobalanaceae)’ (November 2010). different species, and Wakehurst Place about the same again. Elizabeth McCarthy, ‘Biosystematics of Mike Wyatt/GMG Nicotiana (Solanaceae) (November 2010). These trees include rare and threatened species, representative selections from Yael Kisel, ‘Evolutionary studies in Neotropical various families and regions of the world, orchids’ (November 2010). and horticulturally challenging species that need a helping hand. This is a vast resource for science and conservation, backed up Seeds and stress Short-lived alpine seed by the Millennium Seed Bank’s swelling Recent research by the Millennium Seed Bank collection of woody plant seeds. Partnership had shown that seed structure and In coming months we will establish the climate of origin correlate with seed longevity. Millennium Seed Bank as the UK national Seeds with small embryos from cool wet hub for the long term storage of forestry regions of the world are more likely to be short A recent ‘Tansley seed – part of the evolution of the seed C. Seal lived compared to seeds with large embryos Review’ in New bank from a storage vault to a service- from warmer, drier regions. Now studies by Phytologist addresses delivery facility. It means that Kew will have international partners at the University of Pavia the lack of attention Germinating seed of one of the strongest collections of tree Suaeda maritima, model (Italy) and Kew’s seed conservationists have given to stress concepts species used to study seed germplasm on the planet. responses. extended this evidence by comparing seeds of of seeds and plants. Ilse alpine species and their lowland relatives. In this International Year of Forests, we are Kranner and Charlotte forging ahead with research in restoration Seal (Kew) together with Farida Minibayeva Controlled ageing experiments on 63 species at home and abroad, seed banking and (Kazan Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, revealed that seeds of alpine species and germination and mapping and survey Russia) and Richard Beckett (University of populations were consistently shorter lived than projects around the world. Our conventions KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa) have taken the their lowland counterparts. The results cannot and policies group continue to make sure General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS), one of be explained by differences in seed maturity, legal protection is available for trees under the most widely accepted stress concepts in and further work is needed to confirm the threat, while we also make sure we can medicine, to the molecular level and modified extent that these differences are due to genetic still provide the science needed to improve it for seeds, identifying three stages of stress makeup resulting from selection pressure for conservation and management. response. seed survival after dispersal. Seed banking will From the perspective of the new Directorate be an important strategy for the conservation In the ‘alarm phase’, a stress factor is perceived and its responsibilities, we also need to of alpine floras but extra care will be needed by a signalling network of seed hormones and find ways to reflect this commitment to in setting viability monitoring intervals, and for various other small molecules. Under continuing tree conservation in our plant displays and some species cryopreservation may be needed stress, the ‘resistance phase’ is reached when landscapes. Every visitor to our estates, in order to maximise seed longevity. Ann. Bot. the stress response is sufficient for cellular or our website, should leave with no 107, 171 (2011). protection and repair, maintaining seed viability. doubt that trees are essential to life on If these mechanisms fail, the final ‘exhaustion Contact: Dr Robin Probert ([email protected]) earth – whether as carbon sinks, oxygen phase’ leads to the breakdown of essential producers or sources of food, timber or molecules and, ultimately, seed death. pharmaceutical products. Seeds of this alpine population of Silene vulgaris Of course trees are more than a survival This modified GAS also has relevance to ssp. glareosa are significantly shorter lived than a lowland relative. toolbox for our species. Many other plants plants generally as many stress causes and and animals depend on them, and anyone response systems are common to both. who can’t draw inspiration and hope from a Stresses that impact upon seeds can affect majestic forest tree isn’t looking hard enough. plant reproduction and productivity. Therefore, understanding how seeds cope with stress is Dr Tim Entwisle, Director of Conservation, important in relation to food security and the Living Collections and Estates

effects of climate change on biodiversity. New A. Mondoni (Tim commenced in 2011 as a recent appointment to Phytologist 188, 655 (2010). the Executive Board of RBG Kew) Contact: Dr Ilse Kranner ([email protected])

2 Herbarium Nicholas Hind in the Compositae vault of Kew’s new reorganisation herbarium wing. The new wing E of Kew’s Herbarium, Library, Art & Archives was officially opened in November 2010. The second floor is custom built to house the Leguminosae and Compositae collections (transferred from wings A and B respectively) in state-of-the-art temperature-controlled vaults accommodating herbarium specimens in labelled storage boxes on compactor shelves. Relocation of the Compositae took place between April and November 2010. Transfer of the Leguminosae was completed in April 2011. All material was frozen at -40°C for three days as part of the move. Together the two plant families have transferred approximately 1.5 million specimens New frontiers in A. McRobb/RBG Kew (or about 20% of the total herbarium holdings); these represent c 45,000 species in 2,365 genera and now occupy 19,500 boxes on herbarium science just over 6 km of compactor shelving in an insect-free environment. Noteworthy is that the genera in both families have been rearranged Specimens document by the latest science in new classifications that radically update the previous Bentham & habitat change Hooker system. Herbarium specimens are not just for In January 2011 the next phase of the taxonomists. They are a treasure trove of data herbarium collection rearrangement started. on historic plant distributions, often recording All other plant families are being moved the ecological environment and vegetation type around to reflect the APG III system – a seen at the time of the collection. In May 2009, P. Ficinski gargantuan logistics operation expected to Maria Vorontsova and a team from the National take the next two to three years. This is a once Museums of Kenya, the Natural History Historical collection sites of Solanum polhillii in Kenya in a generation opportunity to align Kew’s Museum (London) and Kew were in Kenya and Tanzania showing those at which it was (green herbarium specimens with the latest botanical hunting for rare species of Solanum subgenus squares) and was not found (red circles) in 2009, and sites not visited (black triangles). research. Leptostemonum (wild spiny aubergines),

Contact: Dr Gwilym Lewis ([email protected]) revisiting 17 localities recorded on 40 collections made between 1922-1985. Comparison species. Vegetation clearance and increased between specimen notes and the current grazing are commonplace across East Africa but Linear orders environment was combined with knowledge such land use changes are not recorded and Phytotaxa 19 (2011), edited by Maarten of local people to decide whether significant nobody knows how much vegetation is being Christenhusz (Finnish Museum of Natural environmental change has occurred. Species lost. Dedicated studies of vegetation change History), Mark Chase and Mike Fay (Kew), were successfully recollected in only four of the should consider using herbarium collections as presents the linear sequence, classification, sites, and clear evidence of vegetation change an information source on past vegetation cover. synonymy and bibliography of vascular plants was seen in 24% of the sites. Many localities Systematic Botany 35, 894 (2010). in three articles. Two papers on the linear no longer constitute suitable habitat for these Contact: Dr Maria Vorontsova ([email protected]) orders for families of lycophytes, ferns and gymnosperms follow the ‘Linear APG’ of Haston and colleagues in 2009. The third paper presents synonyms of the orders and families Neotropical Malvaceae – Malvoideae recognised in the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification and related papers. In February 2011, the Neotropikey project Neotropikey itself was launched on-line Contact: Dr Mike Fay ([email protected]) moved into its second phase with the launch in July 2010 as a free, multi-access and of its first on-line, multi-access genus-level illustrated identification key to the flowering Herbaria hold 50% of key, covering the 78 genera of Malvoideae plant families present in the Neotropics. It undiscovered species (or Malvaceae s.s.) that are native or is constantly being improved via feedback introduced in Latin America. From the start from users, and more and better images A study has revealed that 84% of new plant of the Neotropikey project, Malvoideae has are added. The project follows the APG III species described between 1970 and 2010 been used as a model for the production classification system and recognises a total were from herbarium specimens collected more of electronic keys to genus level, with the of 319 Neotropical angiosperm families. To than five years prior to publication, and nearly intention of engaging plant taxonomists complement the family-level key, 221 family 25% of new species were from specimens in the creation of genus-level Lucid keys websites have now been contributed by more over 50 years old. Extrapolation of these results for many other Neotropical plant families. than 100 botanical specialists worldwide, and suggest that, of the estimated 70,000 plant The working title of the key is ‘Neotropical 57 of these include traditional dichotomous species still to be described, more than half Malvoideae-key’ (www.kew.org/science/ keys to genera. A CD has also been published have been collected already and are stored in tropamerica/malvaceae.htm), but the team for use in the field or in areas with no or slow herbaria. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 107, 22169 are keen to receive suggestions of a more internet access. (2010). catchy title. Contact: Dr Bente Klitgaard ([email protected]) Contact: Terry Pennington ([email protected])

3 Diversity of the legume giants of Tropical Africa

Forests contain 80% of terrestrial biodiversity. The importance to mankind of their sustainability has been highlighted by the UN’s International Diversity challenge Year of Forests. The forests of Tropical Africa contain more species of Leguminosae (legumes) than any other flowering plant family, and tree species of legume subfamily Caesalpinioideae often dominate the rainforest. Yet conservation of Africa’s forests is hampered by the lack of taxonomic knowledge of these legume giants.

This taxonomic impediment is being addressed P. Stevenson through a series of revisionary studies produced The Miombo woodlands in Malawi are a source of by RBG Kew’s Tropical African Caesalpinioid natural pesticides. Legume research program, which is undertaken in partnership with the Wageningen Branch of the National Herbarium of the Netherlands and with other international collaborators. A 2011 INTERNATIONAL monograph of the caesalpinioid genus Berlinia has just been published (Systematic Botany Monographs 91, 117 pp; 2011) and follows a recently published revision of Talbotiella (Kew YEAR OF FORESTS Bulletin 65, 40; 2010), another caesalpinioid African forest genus. The next publication The United Nations General Assembly in this series will be a revision of the genus Hymenostegia. declared 2011 as the International Year of Forests to raise awareness of Together these three taxonomic works alone sustainable management, conservation document in detail 47 legume tree species, 28 and sustainable development of all of which are threatened and 12 of which are types of forests. Research on forests at new scientific discoveries. They contribute to Strategy 1 of Kew’s BPP (‘Diversity challenge’), Kew is aligned with these goals through which intends to speed up the discovery of new the seven strategies of Kew’s wider plants and fungi under threat. Breathing Plant Programme (BPP).

Contact: Dr Barbara Mackinder ([email protected]) GIS surveys in New Guinea New Guinea has one of T. Utteridge the largest remaining blocks of tropical forest, Mangrove vegetation on the north coast of Biak. and the island has been identified as a one After teaching, the Kew team and UNIPA of the world’s major counterparts moved to the island of Biak in tropical wilderness Search & rescue Geelvink Bay to conduct a vegetation survey. areas. The region is in Biak is an uplifted coralline island originally need of greater study and in November and covered with lowland rainforest, but large December 2010, a combined group from Kew’s areas have now been cleared of natural South-East Asia team (Tim Utteridge) and GIS vegetation. The Geelvink Bay area is known team (Justin Moat and Steve Bachman) visited for its endemism and is a conservation focus Indonesia to undertake a series of training for UNIPA scientists and foresters. The team workshops and to survey the vegetation of Biak surveyed most of the vegetation types across Hymenostegia sp. nov. collected in Korup National Island off the north coast of New Guinea. Biak and will produce a preliminary map of Park, Cameroon, by Laura Pearce.

X. van der Burgt the island later this year. Further collaborative Supported by the Bentham-Moxon Trust, work in New Guinea will build from this trip, A new book, Champion Trees of Britain and the team worked with counterparts from including mapping new areas and working Ireland: The Tree Register Handbook (by O. Herbarium Bogoriense (Java) to train botanists towards a Red List for the island. The work will Johnson; Kew Publishing, 2011) describes in IUCN Red Listing techniques, before moving contribute to Strategy 2 of Kew’s BPP (‘Search over 5,000 trees and all species in Britain and to New Guinea to work at Universitas Negeri & rescue’) which aims to identify the species Ireland, and provides a guide to the finest Papua (UNIPA, West Papua) to teach basic at greatest risk and those regions likely to lose specimens. vegetation mapping skills to students and staff, their wild species soonest. Contact: Lydia White ([email protected]) including practical training in the field in the Gunung Meja reserve in Manokwari. Contact: Dr Tim Utteridge ([email protected])

4 Hotspots for threatened Pesticidal woodlands Cameroon species in Cameroon, mapped on the rear cover The Miombo woodlands Red List of the Red Data book. of Southern and Eastern Africa, which The UK Darwin Initiative are dominated by Project on the Red List Colophospermum Plants of Cameroon has Help for habitats mopane and Brachystegia come to fruition with the species, are an important production of the Red Data Book: The Flowering Local plants for local people resource of non- Plants of Cameroon IUCN Global Assessments food plant products, (by J. M. Onana & M. Cheek; Kew Publishing, particularly for the rural poor. Contributing to 2011). The book, resulting from a collaboration Kew’s BPP Strategy 4 (‘Local plants for local between the IRAD National Herbarium of people’), farmer surveys have been conducted Cameroon and Kew, lists 815 plant species in Malawi and Zambia about the local uses of that are assessed as being globally threatened for the creation of a new national park in 2008 pesticidal plants in Miombo woodlands. The with extinction. It is the first Red Data book to protect forests in the Bakossi Mountains. surveys were part of the EU-funded Southern for a tropical African country and most species Previous surveys by the National Herbarium and African Pesticidal Plants Project and the are listed for the first time. Such information is Kew had showed the area to be a top centre of African Dry Land Alliance for Pesticidal Plant essential to national authorities responsible for diversity. Providing ‘Help for habitats’ in this way Technologies (www.nri.org/adappt), under managing the environment in Cameroon. For is central to Kew’s BPP Strategy 4. which the University of Greenwich, Kew and example, plant diversity was cited as justification Contact: Dr Martin Cheek ([email protected]) numerous African partners collaborate.

One species identified through these surveys was Lippia javanica, a woody Miombo shrub TREE RESEARCH which is popular as a healthy green tea. This species was shown to be effective at controlling Trees influence epiphyte and invertebrate cattle ticks that cause morbidity and spread communities fatal blood diseases in livestock. The chemical evaluation of another pesticidal Miombo Studies in temporate regions have between genetic distance of trees and tree Bobgunnia madagascariensis identified demonstrated that genetic differences community difference of the epiphytic plants saponins and flavonoid glycosides in the pods between trees affect associated ecological growing on the tree, the invertebrates living that constituted up to 20% of the dry weight. communities and ecosystem processes. among the leaf litter around its base and The saponins are important in the biological Now scientists at Manchester University the invertebrates found on the trunk. The activity of the plants, and their identification is and Kew have examined the extent to more genetically similar trees were host important for the selection of elite material for which this phenomenon occurs based on to more similar epiphyte and invertebrate propagation and replanting programmes where genetic variation within a single tree species communities. This has implications for whole overharvesting is threatening local populations. in a diverse complex ecosystem such as ecosystem conservation management, since Tet. Lett. 51, 4727 (2010); Int. J. Pest Manage. a tropical forest. The team assessed the maintaining sufficient genetic diversity at the 57, 41 (2011); Trop. Anim. Health Prod. 43, 481 influence of within-species genetic variation primary producer level will enhance species (2011). in the tree Brosimum alicastrum (Moraceae) diversity of other plants and animals. Phil. on associated epiphytic and invertebrate Trans. R. Soc. B 366, 1329 (2011). Contact: Dr Phil Stevenson ([email protected]) communities in a Neotropical rainforest Contact: Dr Mike Fay ([email protected]) Forest Thinking Walk and found a significant positive association for schools 14 New palm species from Madagascar Mijoro Rakotoarinivo, at Kew’s Madagascar The Great Plant Hunt (GPH), launched in Conservation Centre, is using GIS-based 2009 and supported species distribution modeling to identify by the Wellcome Trust, priority areas for exploration for rare palms. resulted in GPH treasure In addition to finding many new localities chests being sent to for previously poorly known palms, Mijoro all state schools in the has discovered many species new to science, UK. The chest contains including 14 species of Dypsis and Ravenea resources and a guide Wonders & marvels recently published in . This for teachers with a range brings the total number of Madagascar of activities for years 1 to 6 that get children palm species described by Kew scientists to out and about and inspired by plants. This year 101, which is 57% of the total Madagascar a Thinking Walk to support the International palm flora of 188 species. Among the Year of Forests has been added to the GPH web new species are D. metallica, so-named site (www.greatplanthunt.org). This activity because of its thick, steely-blue leaves, and involves making a Forest Finder, a collecting D. dracaenoides, which resembles a spiky device so that children can collect fallen items dragon tree (Dracaena species). All of the relating to the crown, trunk and base and new palms are threatened in the wild, roots of trees whilst out on a Thinking Walk. with seven rated as critically endangered. The Forest Finders created can then be used to This highlights the plight of Madagascan create forests back in the classroom. Raising plant biodiversity and the urgency of plant

public awareness of the importance of plant J. Dransfield exploration to underpin conservation. Kew and fungal diversity is Strategy 7 of Kew’s BPP Dypsis gronophyllum, one of 14 new palm species Bull. 65, 279 (2010). (‘Wonders & marvels’). recently described from Madagascar. Contact: Dr Bill Baker ([email protected]) Contact: Sue Allen ([email protected])

5 Bee nutrition A. Pauw Flowers Kew is a partner on a new BBSRC-funded Insect Pollinators Initiative project. The Initiative aims to understand the reason for pollinator decline and in Britain. The project with Newcastle University, University of Sydney, University of Pretoria and Hebrew University (Israel) will ask if bees can pollination meet their nutritional needs in the current UK landscape, which is dominated by a few large- scale, short-lived crops that provide less diversity in food source for pollinators than in the past. The project will determine the optimum nutrition for honeybees and bumblebees, and whether temperature, disease, toxins, or stress change the bees’ nutritional needs. The project will also determine how nutrition influences bee foraging behaviour and whether nutritional deficits or plant toxins influence bee communication within the colony. The project The oil-collecting bee Rediviva longimanus on the orchid Pterygodium schelpei. will build an online pollen and nectar nutrient database that will help to predict nutritional shortfalls when they occur and advise Floral reflectance Why are orchids so stakeholders about the best plant species to Flower colour is of great importance in various successful? cultivate. The nutritional information on pollen fields relating to floral biology and pollinator and nectar will be used to develop an optimal behaviour. However, subjective human In terms of diversity, orchids are one of the bee food supplement. most successful groups of flowering plants with judgement of flower colour may be inaccurate Contact: Dr Phil Stevenson ([email protected]) and is irrelevant to the ecology and vision of over 22,000 species. Both pollinating animals and mycorrhizal fungi are believed to have been www.wellcome.ac.uk/News/2011/Features/ the flower’s pollinators. For precise, detailed WTVM050684.htm information about the colours of flowers, a important in the diversification of orchids (and full reflectance spectrum for the flower of other flowering plants), but the mechanism interest should be used rather than relying on by which these above- and below-ground such human assessments. Vincent Savolainen mutualisms affect speciation remain obscure. In (Imperial/Kew) and Lars Chittka’s team at studying a group of 52 orchid species in a small Queen Mary (University of London) have region of South Africa, researchers found that developed The Floral Reflectance Database recently diverged species either used different (FReD), which makes an extensive collection of pollinators or placed pollen on different parts such data available to researchers. The database of the same species, consistent with the role allows users to download spectral reflectance of pollination-mode shifts in speciation. In contrast, fungal partners were conserved data for flower species collected from all over G.Wright the world. These could, for example, be used between closely related species, and orchids Eucera bee feeding on mustard. in modeling interactions between pollinator recruit the same fungal species even when vision and plant signals, or analyses of flower transplanted to different areas. However, co- colours in various habitats. The database occurring orchid species tend to use different Bee welfare contains functions for calculating flower colour fungal partners, consistent with their expected The Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects loci according to widely-used models of bee role in reducing competition for nutrients. The (LASI) at The University of Sussex is currently colour space, reflectance graphs of the spectra results demonstrate that the two dominant in its second year in collaboration with Kew and an option to search for flowers with similar mutualisms in terrestrial ecosystems can play at Wakehurst Place on projects to examine colours in bee colour space. FReD is a valuable major but contrasting roles in plant community the effects of hive moving on bee welfare and new tool for researchers interested in the assembly and speciation. Amer. Nat. 177, E54 to determine the best methods to keep bees colours of flowers and their association with (2011). in urban gardens. LASI is offering two free pollinator colour vision, containing raw spectral Contact: Dr Martin Bidartondo ([email protected]) workshops on ‘Decoding Honey Bee Waggle reflectance data for a large number of flower Dances’ (17 or 18 June, 2011) and ‘Garden species. FReD is freely available at Plants for Bees’ (15 or 16 July, 2011). www.reflectance.co.uk. PLoS ONE 5, e14287, ...and rare? For details visit (2010). Scientists have studied orchids in southwest www.sussex.ac.uk/lasi/newsandevents/events Contact: Prof. Vincent Savolainen Australia to gain an insight into the causes ([email protected]) Contact: Iain Parkinson ([email protected]) of intrinsic rarity in Orchicaceae. They found

Inflorescence of Taraxacum officinale and its the greatest number of rare taxa in naturally reflectance spectrum. fragmented edaphic environments with limited The Orchids of Mount Kinabalu (by J.J.

G. Kite/FReD opportunities for dispersal and colonization. Wood, T.E. Beaman, A. Lamb, C.L. Chan & Taxa pollinated by sexual deception had higher J.H. Beaman; Natural History Publications incidence of rarity than food-rewarding taxa, (Borneo), 2011) documents, in two volumes, which could be due to either low fruit set or the 1 866 orchid taxa known from Mt Kinabalu—a risk of specializing on a single pollinator species. staggering number for an area of only However, rarity was not correlated with the 1,200 km2, which may be unparalleled in the site at which the mycorrhizal fugus infected the world. About 90 taxa are endemic, with 21 0 orchid. J. Biogeogr. 28, 487 (2011). 300 350 400 450 500 550 600 650 700 only known from a single collection. Wavelength Contact: Prof. Stephen Hopper ([email protected])

6 Arecoid palm NEW BOOKS J. Manning phylogeny The Last Great Plant Hunt: The Story of Kew’s Over 50% of palm species fall within a single Millennium Seed Bank (by C. Fry, S. Seddon subfamily, the Arecoideae. Arecoid palms & G. Vines; Kew Publishing, 2011; ISBN: 978 are widespread throughout the tropics and 1 84246 432 8) describes the importance subtropics, displaying exceptional levels and process of seed collecting and storage, of endemism in the Neotropics and Indo- the uses of banked seed and the future of Pacific region. Many are keystone species in seed conservation, through the work of the Millennium Seed Bank Project. tropical forest ecosystems, influencing forest structure and composition, as well as biotic Flowering Plants: A Concise Pictorial Guide interactions. The subfamily also contains the (by V.H. Heywood, R.K. Brummitt, A. Culham & O. Seberg; Kew Publishing, 2011; ISBN 978 most economically important of all palms, 1 84246 438 0) graphically illustrates over Elaeis guineensis (oil palm) and Cocos nucifera 100 of the most important plant families, giv- (coconut). Bill Baker and collaborators have ing key diagnostic features, distribution and recently published the most comprehensive economic uses. phylogeny of Arecoideae based on analyses Aloes: The Definitive Guide (by S. Carter, J.J. of the low-copy nuclear DNA regions PRK and Lavranos, L.E. Newton & C.C. Walker; Kew RPB2 from 190 species in almost all the 103 Publishing in assoc iation with the British genera. The study supports the classification Cactus and Succulent Society, 2011; ISBN presented in Genera Palmarum (J. Dransfield et 978 1 84246 439 7) is the first comprehen- Gladiolus carinatus provides insights al.; Kew Publishing, 2008), but also highlight sive account of this important genus since the standard works of G.W. Reynolds over 40 into speciation in biodiversity hotspots. remaining ambiguities, notably among Indo- years ago. Pacific groups, that will only be resolved with data from new sources. Ann. Bot., in press, Guide to the Flowers of Western China (by Hotspot speciation doi:10.1093/aob/mcr020. C. Grey-Wilson & P. Cribb; Kew Publishing, 2011; ISBN 978 1 84246 169 3) describes There has been much debate over the origin Contact: Dr Bill Baker ([email protected]) and illustrates over 2,400 plants, providing a of species diversity in biodiversity hotspots, guide to many of the commoner and colour- particularly the rate of speciation over extinction Kew is collaborating ful elements of the flora, and constitutes the in an exhibition ‘The largest collection of photographs of Chinese and the geographic mode of speciation. World of Palms’ at the In a new study, researchers have looked at Botanic Garden and plants ever published. Botanical Museum speciation in the Gladiolus carinatus species Berlin-Dahlem (20 May The Plants of Mefou, proposed National Park, complex (Iridaceae), which exhibits varying 2011 to 26 February Yaoundé Cameroon: A Conservation Check- 2012). The exhibition degrees of sympatry, in the biodiversity hotspot covers the diversity, list (by M. Cheek, Y. Harvey & J.M. Onana; of the Cape Floristic Region in southern Africa. biology and uses of Kew Publishing, 2011; ISBN 978 1 84246 palms across the world. 400 7) provides a flora of the Mefou area, They investigated the mechanisms involved Many of the artefacts with a Red Data chapter giving conservation in population and species differentiation and images provided by Kew are being assessments and colour photographs of the through a combination of ecological and displayed in public for most threatened species. the first time. genomic approaches. Lineages were estimated Field Guide to Plants of East Sabah (by R. de to have diverged after the establishment of Kok & T. Utteridge; Kew Publishing, 2010; available habitat in the Cape littoral plain. ISBN 978 1 84246 378 9) features the 84 Shifts in flowering time and morphology have most commonly encountered families in the developed to varying degrees over the last Sapindaceae low land rainforest of Danum Valley, Maliau 0.3–1.4 million years. An amplified fragment Basin and Imbak Canyon. length polymorphism genome scan revealed Research led by Kew, with colleagues from signatures of divergent and balancing selection, Spain, Switzerland and Sweden, has used the although half of the loci consistently behaved family Sapindaceae in two comparative studies neutrally. These results indicate that the G. of phylogenetic methods. The first assessed Inquire carinatus complex represents a continuum of the performance of supertree reconstruction recent speciation, providing further evidence for techniques. Of the various algorithms available, Kew’s education staff are starting work ecological adaptation in the face of gene flow. MinFlip, Matrix Representation with Parsimony on a three-year EU project ‘Inquire’, within Mol. Ecol. 19, 4765 (2010). and MinCut methods outperformed the others the FP7 Science in Society framework. The project, co-ordinated by Botanic Gardens Contact: Prof. Vincent Savolainen ([email protected]) in several respects, especially for the commonly used supermatrix approach. The second study Conservation International, is a collaboration considered two biogeographical reconstruction between 17 institutes across 11 countries, the methods, Dispersal–Extinction–Cladogenesis majority being botanic gardens. It will support (DEC; a parametric method) and Dispersal– the development of an in-country teacher Vicariance analysis (DIVA; a parsimony- training course, to be run annually, that will based method). The benefits and limitations help embed ‘science enquiry’ methodology of each were assessed, and a worldwide in science lessons for 9-14 year olds. The palaeogeographic model spanning the last content for the course will use the themes of 110 million years was proposed to constrain ‘Impact of Climate Change’ and ‘Biodiversity P.P. Lowry II/Missouri Botanical Garden the DEC biogeographic reconstruction. Such Loss’. It is hoped that this work will encourage model could be applied to any cosmopolitan more schoolchildren to ‘think and work’ like plant group. Sapindaceae prove to be an ideal scientists and offer an excellent role model for model for these comparative analyses and work the teaching of science across Europe. Botanic on the systematics, and evolution of the family garden educators will also be enrolled on the continues at Kew. Syst. Biol. 60, 32 (2011); training courses, to support better educational J. Biogeogr. 38, 531 (2011). delivery within their respective gardens. Cossinia trifoliata, an endemic Sapindaceae from New Caledonia. Contact: Dr Sven Buerki ([email protected]) Contact: Gail Bromley ([email protected])

7 S D Hopper Ancient mycorrhiza-like symbiosis It has long been hypothesized that mutualistic symbiotic soil fungi assisted land plants in their initial colonization of terrestrial environments. However, there has been a lack of evidence demonstrating if and how the earliest land plants might have cooperated with fungi for mutual benefit in the early Palaeozoic era (over 470 million years ago).

Scientists from the University of Sheffield, Kew, Imperial College London and the University of Sydney recently obtained insights into the evolving dynamic behaviour of the first land plants and fungi by studying the interaction Fire in a Eucalyptus gomphocephala woodland in Kings Park and Botanic Garden, between the thalloid liverwort Marchantia Perth. Many eucalypts are fire resistant and can resprout from lignotubers or paleacea (a representative of the most ancient from epicormis buds below bark but are killed by extremely hot fire. extant clade of land plants) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). They found that Evidence for fire-adapted traits questioned colonization of M. paleacea with AMF In an opinion article in Trends in Plant Science, with fire. These include re-sprouting, serotiny significantly promoted photosynthetic carbon researchers from Australia and Kew have (the retention of seeds until an environmental uptake, growth and asexual reproduction. challenged traditional views of the role of fire trigger such as fire causes release), seed and Each plant supported 100–400 m of AMF in the evolution of the flora of Mediterranean fruit dormancy, post-fire flowering and smoke- mycelia, and their fitness increased through climate regions. These regions cover only 5% of induced germination. fungal-enhanced acquisition of phosphorus the land surface of the Earth but are home to and nitrogen from soil. When the researchers The authors conclude that the only trait that approximately 20% of flowering plant species. simulated a CO2-rich atmosphere, similar to has the potential to be a true adaptation is that of the Palaeozoic, they found that the A question underpinning this debate is whether post-fire flowering. If the authors’ assertions benefits of AMF were significantly amplified, fire resistant traits arose in direct response are correct, then the current regime of frequent providing likely selection pressures for to the appearance of fire in the landscape burns in the management of Mediterranean establishment of the symbiosis. (adaptation), or may have pre-dated or evolved landscapes may be placing many vulnerable independently from fire but nonetheless plant species under threat. It is certainly time The analyses provide essential missing enhance survival and reproduction in today’s to re-assess the role of fire in the evolutionary functional evidence supporting AMF fire-prone environment (pre-adaptation or history of these regions and to encourage symbionts as drivers of plant terrestrialization exaptation). The authors suggest how to further study to avoid unnecessary extinctions in early Palaeozoic land ecosystems. Nature identify true adaptations and provide evidence of plant species that may simply not be adapted Communications 1, 103, doi:10.1038/ that throws doubt on the status of many plant to a life with fire. Trends Pl. Sci. 16, 69 (2011). ncomms1105 (2010). characteristics that have been widely assumed Contact: Dr Martin Bidartondo ([email protected]) to be prime examples of adaptation to living Contact: Prof. Stephen Hopper ([email protected])

Natural products for dementia R. Fang

Dementia is an epidemic of unprecedented Kew scientists have also worked proportion and crisis in modern medicine, with colleagues from Newcastle with cost estimates exceeding a billion University to investigate euros in Europe alone. However, effective Withania somnifera root extract symptomatic treatments or preventive for pharmacological activities strategies for dementia, including Alzheimer’s relevant to dementia (Phytother. disease (AD), are limited. The few drugs Res. 24, 1567; 2010). Galanthus species provided available to alleviate cognitive symptoms the first naturally-derived include two acetylcholinesterase inhibitors The potential for natural licensed drug used to treat Alzheimer’s disease, derived from plants. A range of other drugs products to provide drug leads galantamine. is often prescribed incidentally to alleviate for AD has been reviewed by behavioural and psychological symptoms of Melanie Howes (Kew) and colleagues at the reviewed the role of natural products in the dementia, including agitation. During a recent University of Hawaii. Over 180 compounds, treatment and prevention of dementia, with trial, sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Society, including those currently in clinical use for an emphasis on clinical trial evidence, and from investigating whether Melissa officinalis oil symptomatic treatment in AD, are discussed, the perspective of available epidemiological could treat agitation in AD, scientists at Kew in addition to the status of natural products data (CNS Neurosci. Ther., in press, doi: collaborated by investigating the authenticity, in drug development programs (Nat. Prod. 10.1111/j.1755-5949.2010.00202.x; Drugs & quality and stability of M. officinalis oils Rep. 28, 48; 2011). Elaine Perry (Newcastle Aging 28, in press). (Dement. Geriatr. Cogn. Disord. 31, 158; 2011). University) and Melanie Howes have also Contact: Dr Melanie-Jayne Howes ([email protected])

Kew Scientist Editorial advisory team Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Editor Dr M. Fay Dr W. Baker, Dr C. Clennett, Dr C. Clubbe, Dr F. Forest, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AB. Production Editor Dr G. Kite P. Griffiths, Dr R. de Kok, Dr G Lewis, N. McGough, Tel: +44 (0)20 8332 5000 Design Design & Photography, M. Ramsay, N. Rothwell, Dr P. Rudall, Prof. M. Simmonds, Fax: +44 (0)20 8332 5310 RBG Kew Dr B. Spooner, Dr N. Taylor, Dr P. Toorop, R. Wilford Internet: www.kew.org Published in Spring and Autumn.

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