ISSN: 0967-8018 Kew Scientist Spring 2015 Issue 47 Science news from the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and Wakehurst Place Digitising Kew’s collections Digitisation strategies at Kew The new science strategy of RBG Kew recognises the need to increase access to its 8.5 million collections and sets an ambitious target of digitising 80% of these by 2020. Kew is seeking to reach this target with two strategies: rapid digitisation of large parts of the collections using modern technologies and smaller-scale projects capturing more in-depth data from specific collections. Examples of the rapid digitisation approach are the imaging of all Kew’s herbarium specimens of the potato genus (Solanum) and yam family (Dioscoreaceae) Imaging of herbarium specimens in The Netherlands Photo: S. Knapp in collaboration with the Natural History Museum, (London) and Picturae, a Economic Botany Collections specialist digitisation company based in The Kew’s Economic Botany Collection has been Netherlands. In contrast, in-depth data will online since 2012, making available full data start to be be captured from Kew’s 150,000 for nearly 90,000 ethnobotanical specimens. microscope slide collection following the A major upgrade occurred in 2014 with recent acquisition of a digital microscope the addition of 5,500 specimens of materia slide scanner. medica from the Harrod Collection of the Contact: Dr Alan Paton ([email protected]) former Chelsea College, donated by King’s College London. The online catalogue has Digitisation of type specimens both raised the visibility of the Economic Botany Collection and enabled users to This year sees the culmination of a long- target specimens more effectively; data term endeavour which counts among its can also now be downloaded for use in achievements the digitisation of all the type spreadsheets. The next challenge is to specimens deposited in Kew’s herbarium. increase the proportion of photographed Initiated in 2004 as the African Plants specimens. So far about 2,500 specimens Initiative (API), with generous support from have been imaged, mainly those used in the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the recent publications and exhibitions. digitisation work grew rapidly to encompass http://apps.kew.org/ecbot/search numerous herbaria, creating high quality (600 dpi) images of African type specimens, Contact: Dr Mark Nesbitt ([email protected]) and detailed transcription of all associated data to common data standards. The Latin Type specimen of Carex banksii Boott, American Plants Initiative (LAPI) built on collected by Charles Darwin Photo: RBG Kew this success and by 2009 the endeavour had grown into the Global Plants Initiative, specimens filed in red covers within the eventually involving 329 partner herbaria main Kew herbarium, which include worldwide and imaging a cumulative total confirmed types, putative types and other of 2.2 million herbarium sheets including historic material. Over 325,000 such sheets nomenclatural types, other historic and at Kew have been digitised to date, and this original material, and specimens of plants work is expected to be completed over the endemic to a single tropical country. The summer of 2015. In addition, the Mellon- images and data mobilised are consolidated funded digitisation team have imaged all in a single resource at JSTOR Global Plants: of the specimens (> 25,000) in the East http://plants.jstor.org. India Company Herbarium, which is rich Kew’s contribution to the Global Plants in unmarked types, and conducted pilot Initiative and its predecessors (API and projects on imaging important material LAPI) included the provision of imaging in the Fungarium (> 4,000 specimens). equipment, staff training and technical Kew’s herbarium specimen images are also available at www.kew.org/herbcat. support to herbaria as they joined the Examples of the Harrod Collection recently network of contributors. The main focus Contact: Dr Eimear Nic Lughadha accessioned into Kew’s Economic Botany of digitisation efforts at Kew has been ([email protected]) Collection with data now digitised. Photo RBG Kew www.kew.org Kew Scientist Spring 2015 Issue 47 1 Awards Direction In February 2015, Honorary Research Fellow Peter Brandham was awarded the Science Strategy Peter Barr Memorial Cup by the Royal Horticultural Society at a ceremony in the 2015 marks the beginning of a new RHS Lindley Hall in recognition of his work phase in Kew Science. The launch of the on the chromosomal evolution of Narcissus Science Strategy in February has set the in cultivation. organisation on a clearly defined pathway Herbarium volunteer Sheila Thompson in pursuit of a new scientific vision: to was the 2014 winner in the Long Service document and understand global plant category of the London Volunteers and fungal diversity and its uses, bringing in Museums Awards. The Herbarium authoritative expertise to bear on the reorganisation volunteers were the overall critical challenges facing humanity today. winners of the 2014 Marsh Trust Volunteer It reinforces Kew’s position as a global Awards. resource in plant and fungal knowledge and recognises the value and potential of In November 2014, Kew magazine won the collections to contribute to hard-hitting, the Environmental Award at the 2014 relevant research. Developed by scientists Garden Media Guild Awards at The Savoy across Kew, the strategy provides focus in London. The award was for a piece and clarity on Kew’s scientific priorities, by Stephanie Pain called ‘Saving for the Peter Brandham awarded the Peter Barr which are defined as follows: Future’ on the UK National Tree Seed Memorial Cup Photo: R. Scamp 1. To document and conduct research into Project. global plant and fungal diversity and its An Atlas of the World’s Conifers by Aljos Farjon PhDs uses for humanity. was awarded an Outstanding Academic The following students, co-supervised by 2. To curate and provide data-rich Title by CHOICE (Current Reviews for Kew staff, have successfully defended their evidence from Kew’s unrivalled Academic Libraries) in January 2015. theses: collections as a global asset for An exhibit by Joanne Everson, Ilia scientific research. Paulina Hechenleitner, ‘Biogeography Leitch and Laurence Hill showcasing the and systematics of South American Vicia 3. To disseminate our scientific knowledge variation in genome size in Fritillaria, using (Leguminosae)’ (December 2014). of plants and fungi, maximising photographic, scientific and horticultural Jacqueline St Quinton, ‘An evaluation of its impact in science, education, displays, won a Gold Award at the Early conservation policy and management. fungal pathogens as biological control Spring Show of the Alpine Garden Society agents against the weed Rubus niveus’ These priorities will enable us to curate, in Harlow, February 2015. use, enhance, explore and share Kew’s (February 2015). global resource, providing robust data and a strong evidence base for our UK and Preferences of horse chestnut global stakeholders. We have also developed an ambitious leaf miner set of strategic outputs to be delivered by 2020. These include an online portal giving access to information on all the world’s known plant species, an annual report on the State of the World’s Plants, and a target of banking 25% of the world’s seeds by 2020. Each of our outputs draws on strengths from across the Science Directorate at Kew and will be implemented by the six newly formed research departments: Collections, Identification and Naming, Comparative Plant and Fungal Biology, Conservation Science, Natural Capital and Horse chestnut leaves damaged by the leaf Plant Health, and Biodiversity Informatics miner Cameraria ohridella Photo: T. Kokubun and Spatial Analysis. The departments bring out the best in our collections, our A study has examined oviposition people and our partnerships, and with a preference and larval performance of new vision and strategy we aim to make the horse chestnut leaf miner (Cameraria Kew’s scientific resources a global asset, ohridella) on its native host, Aesculus Soejatmi Dransfield planting Soejatmia ridleyi bringing benefits to science, conservation hippocastanum, and other species of Aesculus at Singapore Botanic Gardens Photo: J. Dransfield policy and education worldwide. that are novel hosts. Cameraria ohridella laid The strategy does not claim to have eggs on all species of Aesculus, but showed all the answers. The challenges facing preferences for A. hippocastanum and the Soejatmi plants Soejatmia humanity will evolve, and science will closely related A. turbinata. Successful mine In October 2014, Honorary Research Fellow continue its forward progress. However, development, however, was observed only Soejatmi Dransfield ceremonially planted understanding and conserving plant on A. hippocastanum and A. turbinata, and her eponymous bamboo, Soejatmia ridleyi, in and fungal diversity has never been these species showed similar leaf traits, Singapore Botanic Gardens. The monotypic more relevant, and I am excited by the which might explain why larvae performed genus Soejatmia was described by K.M. Wong opportunities for Kew’s scientists to equally well. In contrast, resistant species in 1993 to accommodate Bambusa ridleyi, continue to produce world-class research showed considerable variation in leaf traits, misplaced in Bambusa. The new genus was and make an important and unique named after Soejatmi for her contribution contribution to addressing some of the suggesting that different species of Aesculus major challenges of our time. have different