CONSERVATION AND T H E LIVING COLLECTIONS ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW

John B.E. Simmons

If the 1970s marked the point where the wider scientific community and the informed public became aware of the need for conservation measures to safeguard the world’s flora, then the question being asked by a wider public audience in the 1980s is ‘What can we do about it?’

One of the sadder effects of the world recession has been the speeding up of the destruction of natural areas. In Britain we see more frequent press articles reporting the destruction of o u r own countryside and the devastatingly extreme drought conditions of north-east Africa. Aside from the loss of the world’s precious heritage of species ‘the greatest loss of species in the history of the world’ to paraphrase Raven, we now can see negative climatic affects developing. On a small scale I learnt from Martina Geyssens de Altmann in central Honduras of how her initially thriving orchid nursery was established in a moist, riverine valley sur- rounded by a forest rich in orchids and other epiphytes and how, within seven years since forest felling started on the surrounding hills, the valley had dried and the river shrunk to a stream. The effect of forests in forming a watershed is well known, the Spanish call the cloud catching effect of montane forest ‘horizontal rain’.

Faced with world scale problems such as the subsidised overproduction of food in Europe at the expense of the few remaining natural areas, or the starvation in Africa and other areas, caused by over-demand on fragile ecosystems, with the background of an ever-increasing world population and demand, what can botanic gardens do to reduce the effects of a growing ccological disaster? Truthfully, we just travel hopefully, but in this hope I will outline some of the Living Collection Division’s casual journcy.

Retrospectively, the two Kew International Conservation Con- ferences of 1975 and 1978 marked a watershed for attitudes within botanic gardens. This increased awareness has resulted in more data capture and the propagation of recorded endangered species with their distribution to other gardens. The need to know what is grown and where it is held led to an IUCN backed scheme for listing endangered species in cultivation and establishing propaga-

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tion programmes. Additionally, the approach to field collecting has changed so as not to cause any depletion from the wild and to consciously increase the range of genotypes in cultivation. Gardens have also developed more biotopes in which to hold species and created botanical reserves, but most of all there has been an increase of public education in conservation - perhaps the most important function now for any botanic garden.

RECORDING. As indicated, the requircment for authenticity with conservation matcrial has led to the improvcmcnt of rccording schcmcs for the capture and retention of data. A primary problem is to get the collector to note details of the origin, population status and edaphic details, and for thc gardcn to link this information to the plant concerned. Thus accessioning bccomes an important activity. Each acccssion at Kew is fully recorded on receipt and givcn a unique number. Bibliographic data, such as plant family or thc IUCN conservation status of the spccies, is addcd along with the location of the plant in thc garden. Noting the naturc of the matcrial receivcd is also important - particularly whcther as vcgctative parts or seed from a singlr specimen, or a mixture of gcnotypes.

Once in cultivation other curation data is added. The means of any rcpropagation has to be noted to avoid possible genctic crosion - as can happen with seed raised from opcn-pollinated plants, whcre hybridisation is likely. Emphasis is now givcn to a wide distribution of secdlings from thr initial natural sourcc acquisitions so as to increase the genetic range of spccics in cultivation. Thc birch collcction (Betula) at Wakchurst Placc has for example bccn acquired as cithcr seed from natural sources or as graft scions from natural sourcc plants in other collections. Secd taken from birch in the collections will almost always produce hybrid progeny but hybrids also occur in nature; oaks in particular oftcn hybridise whcrcver specics overlap in range.

Progressively othcr information is added about the plant and its rcquirements, growth rate, flowcring pcriod, etc., all of which is ultimatcly useful in ecological terms for cither reintroduction into the wild or as a dictionary-like guide for othcr users and growers.

‘Hie advance of computcrs makes it possible to store and rctricve such information on a largc scalc, simplifying thc production of catalogues or interchange listings - whcre botanic gardens combine to jointly record and hold stock of particular groups of plants. With cycads for examplc - whose biological durability at lcast ensures persistcncc in cultivation - comhincd gardcn listing by IUCN’s Botanic Gardcn Coordinating Body has givcn collection curators the knowledgc of the rarity or frcqucncy of thcir specimens and locatcd male and female specimens, which for the rare spccies provides the possibility of pollen exchangc for thc production of serds. Cycads produce thcir impressivc sceds whcther or not they have been fcrtilised, but the unfcrtiliscd seed has no embryo. Thc pollcn can be stored but the requircmcnts for thc successful artificial pollination of these ancient plants arc not understood.

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Monitoring distributed material is also important but in genera! we have been slow to follow this UP. However, at Kew the use of the unique accession number and the facilities of Kew’s new minicomputer make this a feasible option. Kew has now distributed a huge range of material - in 1983 for example some 500 seedlings of hardy woody plants were dispatched to temperate arboreta. The premise is the expectation of plants prospering in at least onc of their new sites and so providing a reserve against the loss of one’s own stock. A recent call from the National Botanic Gardens of South Africa proved a case in point. *They were seeking a Cape Heath, Eric0 verlicillulu, now seemingly extinct in the wild but fortunately still cultivatcd at Kcw.

COLLECTING. Thc ethics of plant collecting have to be qucs- tioned insofar as commercial collecting is threatcning the survival of rarc specics and there are examples of botanical collecting endangering scarce populations. Whcn we say we collect plants thc public now assumc we are acting ‘unconscrvationally’. Botanical collcctors must not bc seen to damage natural populations - it is possible with plants to have minimal impact, for example by just taking a fcw pseudo-bulbs from a clump of orchids or by cuttings. Depcnding on the subject, fully prepared scmi-ripe cuttings with thcir bases wrappcd in moist tissue and held in a polythcne bag, can be kept for two to thrcc wccks to he rooted back in the gardcn; I used this technique rcccntly with an attractive red-bractcd Cephuelis (Rubiaccac) from Honduras. Additionally rhizomes, offshoots and seeds offcr cqually useful material and generally spcaking thc more juvrnilc the material thc morc rcadily it transplants.

The problem of commcrcial collccting has becn highlightcd at Kcw under thc opcration of the CITES legislation. One aspect, thc massive scalc of imports to northern Europc of wild-collected species of Cyclumen and othcr bulbous plants from thc Ncar and Middle East, is difficult to control, with the plants being shippcd first to onc EEC country, like Holland, then on to another after repacking. A rrccnt casc in point involvcd thr scizure of over ten thousand Cyclamen, including the rarc C. mirabile (misidcntified on its label, and it is difficult to identifi. dormant corms!) all originally from southern Turkey. Wild orchids arc simiarly exploited. A friend told mc of a site in Central America where Epidendron tlnnfirdinnum grew in thcir hundreds - a floral spectacle whcn the plants wcrc in flower, draping the forcst with their long inflorcsccnces. Unuittingly she had mcntioncd the site to an acquaintance with an intercst in orchids, only to discover later that he had gonc to the sitc one afternoon with a team of mcn and lorries and stripped out all of the orchids. Since they can each fetch a high price in thc Unitcd States i t must have proved a profitable day’s work.

There is international legislation which does not sccm to impede illegal traficking in endangcrcd plants, whereas it docs make it vcry difficult for any bona jde researcher to send plants legally.

It is important for botanic gardens to be scen as dcfenders, not consumers of the plant world. Plants oblige us with their facility for

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Dionnea inuscipulo

LB , l c m ,

vegctativc incrcasc. Our a im at Kew is to propagate rare material and hopc its availability in cultivation will then reduce prcssurc on wild populations. In many instances wc can provide both the material and thc technique, as with cacti and many succulents, or thc successful propaga- tion of the Vcnus’s Flytrap (Dionaea rnuscipula) in vitro whercby a single seedling was made to continually prolifcratc, so producing an cndlcss succession of plants in culturc, cvcntually supplying a hugc commcrcial opcration.

The concept of sharing collections, and national collections, including the schcmc dcvcloped by thc National Council for the Conscrvation of Plants in Gardens, an organisation that evolved from initial ideas gencratcd by Kcw’s two conscrvation confcrrnccs, is slowly dcveloping but has far to go.

PROPAGATION. Probably onc of the mow significant advances made at Kew in recent years has becn the tcchnical development of the

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Garden’s nurseries supported bv advaiiccd fkcilities for the propagation of plants. As the display houses h a ~ c been converted t o more naturalistic displays so thc support houses in Kcw’s nurscry arras have been rcnc,wed, fjttcd with environmental control equipment and organiscd to give the better utilisation of space required to hold resrrvr collcctions. i\’hrrcas previously, often the only stock of a plant had to be held in a public display h o ~ ~ s c , now reserve stocks ensure that requirement for extra security.

'The cstal~lishmcnt of a micropropagation unit has made possible the propagation of many cndangercd spccicx From tlic material identified by the Coordinating Body, programmes for the increase and distribution of Europcaii. Canary Island and hIadagascan cndcmics ha\^ progressed, along with separate hrlp with a special FFPS/IUCS supported schcmc to propagate thr endemic plants of St. H(~1cna. Beyond this tlicrr is a regular sccd raising programme for orchids wliich, with progrcssivcly incrrascd skills, can now successfully tackle a widr range of species c \ ~ n those, such a s Pq9iiopPdiluin, oncr considered beyond asymbiotic mrans. A special pro-jcct to seed-raise terrestrial orchids i n culture Lvitli their niycorrhiza is proving \’cry succcssf~il and tlic hope is that thrsc symbiotically raised plants will cstahlisli more successfully as re-introductions in the v d d . Orchi.! ii7uri0, the Grccn-winged Orchid, is schcdulrd for the first trial pmj cct.

The distribution of endangered spccics propagated in r’i/ro has proved very successful in estahlishing thrsc species more widely in cultii.ation. Examples of the hIacronesian threatened species succcssfiilly bulkcd up and distrihutcd include Eclziirni hitrreizse and K . leucvphneuni (Boraginarcac), .Swn/enih hii/deu)-oides (Composi tae) , ,A i c h y m pmchcraulon and .-1 . pnlmpnse (Crassulaccac) , Sideri/is c/r<gvsphncelus ( L a h t a c ) , Don,aziitm broiissonetii (Lcpminosac) , Lnr ’c l l~rn cmrj/din (hlali-accac), Isoplexis .sctp/rim (Scro- phulariaccac) and Pimpinelln ciizrrjpiendw?z (Umhellifcrac) .

\Vhik the c o n \ m tiond sl>ccialist propagation units tend t o focus on sccd raisiiig, \.egctativc propagation is widrly used, as can tic sccti in the intcrcstiitg d isp la ) .~ of, fbr cxamplr, rare St. Hclenian endemics i n the Trmpcratc House - where Cvmnzidendr-on ticcomes almost weed) and the uiiiquc T T ~ ~ O ~ ~ S ~ I O .rcolli from Socotra prosprrs.

BIOTOPES. The increasing \.ulncral)ility of plants brings prcssurr t o carry c \ u niorc species in cultivation, particular1~- at Kcct. il’liilo many arc dvstincd t o sta). in thc rcscrvr collcctions, the range of biotopcs a\.ailablv has hcrn cxtcnded in order to increase tlic im-iety of plants on displa). ‘fliis produces more geographic or ccologically oricntatrd displays i n extension of tlic pre\.iously mainly systematic arrangcmcnts. ‘lllis in a way rcflccts the conservation nerd that bcliovcs us to look at ecosystems as entities, trying to understand thc cornplcx intcr-rclation- ships of living systems. A good botanical horticulturist should ha\-c an intrinsic understanding o f both the plant’s natural r& tionships and its ccologicaI requirements, from which to aclieivc cultural succrss. ‘Thc attracti\.c shrubby <Jussiaeas or the costa-palmatc AIIazrrilia palms arc indicators of moist habitats in tropical ,4mcrica, just as Begonias

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frequently inhabit humid shady sites inlimestone areas, usually montane. Not to realise that the rare deciduous conifer Glyptoskrobus pensilis from South China grows contentedly with its roots in a swamp, like its American counterpart Tuxodium, is to miss a key requirement.

Whilst greenhouses offer the greatest scope for climate control, gardcn situations can be modified in other ways. O n a small scale at Kew, raisrd beds with extra fine irrigation have allowed the more successful culti- vation of plants such as the silver-leaved Celmisias from New Zealand, deep blue Himalayan Gentians and the rare Japanese Lady’s Slipper Orchid, Cypripedium japonicum. Yet other raised beds, with the addrd

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ivintcr shrltcr of glass framrs that can he usrd to sun hake in the sunimcr, h a w allo\vcd the succrssful cultivation of sonic of the cliffcult Julio and <>ncoc)-clus groups of Irises from the hliddlc East. Lt’atrr features too call proride tirw hahitats as lsakchurst’s new water garden shoivs, bvith occupants such as thr British tiativr \Vatcr Soldicr. S/ra/io/es nloides.

Idctitif~~itig and exploiting suitable hahitats is a part of the art. ,Again at \\‘akchurst t l ic cooler and moister climatr offers advantages over Kcw in the cultir.atioii of cool temperate plants from the southern hcmisphcrc, bc i t a s ;i forest gcsncriad from Chile, .Uilmi-in coccinea, Hoherias and Lc p 10s perm urns fi-om New Z c aland , bright -s t amcnrd Call is t rmons from Xustralia or the intriguing P?-o/eacene, an exotic looking family of plants, ~-c~prescittcd at iSakchurst by Emholhrium - the Fire ’Tree from Chile, Gi-er , i / (~n , H d e n and the \Saratahs (Tdopen) from Xustralia, all curious1)- I,cncfiting f?om a particular site wlicrc the soil is naturally dcficirnt in phosphorous.

:\t Kckv the sanic family (Protraccac) presented a major challrngc. Scarl). t\vctity years of attention to tlir Bariksias from Australia, the lessons learnt from slow succcss; sensitivity to thc mineral status of the soils, dislike of the slightrst root disturbancc, the need for careful ivatcring. But progrcssi\~ly the collection has adrxmcrd to provide many good sizcd specimens that arinually produce their largr cotic-likc llorvcrs - a step 10 the group’s ultimatrx challengr, thc hca~ttiful South African Protcas.

From thc carlicst cightecnth century botanical rsploration of the Cape and S e w Hollatid (Australia) floras, a unique collcction of Bariksias and Protras had bccm asscmhlcd and cultivated at Keu’. Iti 1862 the whole collection \vas transported on a stonmiason’s cart from its home i n the ilrchitcxctural ConscrrTator-)- (now the ilroid House) by the hlaiii Gatc, to the ticwly complctcd South Octagon of the Tcniprratc House, only to languish and die - to the. bittcr cottstertiation ofJohn Smith, the Garden’s Curator, and fbr thc following one hundred and twenty years no flowcriiig Protca was seen at Kctv. ‘Tlic historic loss of the collcction was h ~ t r ~ i c ~ d into in>- cotisciousncss.

\Vhc.n dircctl>. rcsponsiblr for thc housc in the 1960s I tried again, but c~tir~irotitiicnta1 conditions still proved Icthal and only the most undcmand- itig arid dura1)lc of plants could sur1.ir.e within this housr . T h r restoration of’thc ‘I’crnpcrate House ga\’e the opportunity to corrcct its many failings; inipro\.c light transmission and temperature control and, most impor- tant ly , control soil n‘utricnt status, drainagc and u’atcr quality by repairing the rain watcr catchmcnt system and proi.iding supplcmcntary trcatcd bvatcr for dry periods. To this was added thr g r a t e r skill and k t io~ lcdgc of the staff who have raised thc plants i n the nurscry and now c;irc for the amazing collection of flowering Protcas growing in the South Octagon.

TI1c Proteas happily share their hrd with an equally prospcriiig collection of Cape Hcaths, one of which, Erica ver/icilln~a, was recently the subject of a request for propagating material siticc i t had become extinct

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in the wild. Habitat extension continues. The new tropical display house will hold mangroves - which are also highly sensitive to water quality - and has an area of heated soil for Welwitschia, the ancient two-leaved gymnosperm from the Namib Desert, which needs a temperate of 75°F at its roots and a humid atmosphere to simulate its sea misted desert home. Cloud forest and dry tropical forest are two further biotopes scheduled for this house.

The succcss of root-zone refrigeration has shown what - under the control of skilled staff - can be achieved with alpine plants from such difficult habitats as the arctic or tropical mountains and this spirit of confidence is now moving on to tackle the marine algae. Generally it has been considered impossible to grow and display the lower plants in botanic gardens, but advancing technology and knowledge has changed this view linked with the increasing and serious threat to marine habitats. In consideration of their potential value to mankind from a myriad of in- dustrial and medicinal applications, a new aquarium feature is in plan- ning and nursery tanks already established - seaweeds are growing at Kew!

BOTANICAL R E S E R V E S . While increasing understanding a n d technical advance allow botanic gardens to care more surely for a greater range of species as plants or even deep frozen seeds - as in our Seed Bank - all are vulnerable to the existence of the supportive infrastructure of skilled people and energy supplies - ex silu conservation. In situ conservation, the maintcnance of the natural habitat, is obviously preferable for a host of reasons, but hitherto this had not been considered

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an important r6Nle for botanic gardens. With a thousand gardens worldwide, howevvcr, each making a contribution to its native flora the), would have a signaificant effect.

Kew’s first resccve was formed at the command of Queen Victoria when the Cottage Grou-ds, an attractive bluebell wood, was added to Kcw in 1899 under the c%nstraint that it continue to bc managed in its natural conditions. Originoally the site of an 18th century royal palacc plcasure garden, its transi&tion to wildcrness was initiated by the clearances of Capability Brown in the 1770s and followed by thc happy neglect, as in Slecping Beauty’s palace, through Victoria’s reign, that progressed its woodland wildncsas. The trees, howcver, were mostly exotics, Turkey, ilmcrican and Hol Im Oaks, Horsechestnuts, Sycamores and various pines. But progressively the replacement plantings of thc last dccadc (necessi- tated by thc ravagws of Dutch Elm Diseasc and Sooty Bark on Sycamores) havc been of CxcILilsivcly authcntic native species including the now rarc Black Poplar and Sorbus microspccies as well as our more comnioti trees and shrubs. The processcs of natural dccay on trccs arc allowcd and a Typha pool and gravel bank increase wild life opportunities - for amphibians and ki ngfisher rcsprctivcly. Thc rivcrsidc meadow grass ridcs are cut only oncc a year in early wintcr, as in the bluebell area, and a hazel coppice has heen cormcd; a sylvan refuge within London’s suburbs.

‘I‘hc new Lodcr Valley Rcservc at Wakehurst came about for a variety of reasons and ~ ~ f l % l c , as a botanical rescrvc for thc \Yealdcn flora, it can and docs act as a model for natural habitat preservation by a botanic gardcn, its dcL1rlopmcnt was actually stimulated by a local water board’s proposal to crcatc a reservoir. Difficult negotiations evcntually led to a \’cry positive 0utcC)mc whcrcby, around the forty acre lake that entcrcd \l:akchurst, linking corridors betwccn previously separated woodland areas w r e acquirvd along with meadowland (in compensation) and a reed swamp barrier. The woodland has a mixture of forest plots, coppiccs and a fairly na tura l arca wlirrc decay and natural rcgcneration has occurrcd. Such a t-cscrve has long term aims - to pcrsist in pcrpetuity. Fortunately costs &re low, one man to policc, guidc groups, rcpair fcnces, paths and hdg t%, provide hidcs and nesting sites and manage the coppice arid fi)rest plots in an arca of around 200 acrcs. The man- dcpcndcrit biotoptxs n e d some additional season hclp such as with monitoring and grass cutting for thc meadow and rrcd swamp, though prccious little whcb compared to a formal garden.

M’itli the dcstruvtion of our nati\rc habitats incrcasing at an alarming rate, the value of such rescr\’cs is obvious. The site itself was already an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Intcrcst) containing rarc British plants such as the Tunhridge \Vclls filmy fern, H>~menop/y//um funbi-igensis, Hay- sceiitcd Buckler-fern, Dyopleris nemuln, and Purple Hcllcborine, Epipnclis pur-urnla arid thc mc-adow was found to havc o\.er 140 species, a vcry florally rich arca. 4 s thc reedswamp is formed, and local wctland spccics (mostly saved from agricultural drainage schemes) arc cstablishcd, thc initial educational purpose of the rcscrvc bccomes progressively and more

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realistically conservation-orientated. There is no conflict here with a Garden’s r&, especially since both the Lodcr Valley Reser\c and the Queen’s Cottage Grounds also contribute significantly to o u r aesthetic appreciation of the natural world.

EDCCAIION. Botanic gardens have been described as potential shop \vindo\vs for plant conservation and through their visitors, publications and media output, they can have a considerable impact on public attitudes. Information about rarc or useful plants is always greatly appreciated. X small explanatory notice about the Jade Vine: Sti-ongylodon vzncrobo@s. set out \vlieii it is in flower, excites attention. One \-isitor to Kcw niadc a special study orits pollination necds since he was concerned by this riidangcred plant’s failurc to set seed in cultivation. Currentl>, the cducational material in thc gardens is mostly of general interest - with perhaps an emphasis on utilities, hut fundamentally there is also the continuirig nccd to explain mankind’s total dcpcndence on plants as modern life style progrcssivcly isolates h e town-dweller from his roots.

Organising display plantings according to habitat; i.e. rainforest, helps scliool groups and others relate their studies to cco tems and it should pro1.c possil)lc to pro\.idc audio visual out-reach pac es as a follow up to their \isits. \VMc o\~ci-=lat)clling can detract from the pleasures of‘ a garden, demand groivs as tlic public interest in plants increases - perhaps related to tlic increasing stress of life today. As more is provided. I)c i t as support to tclc\ision programmes or in the cultural provision of a setting for thc pertbrming arts - such as music and poctry - so each gctirratcs more demand. but all ha\.(. the potential to carry the conservation mcssagc.

\Vhat a message! ’I’he problems M‘C tiow face have only a limited time for resolution. 11s alrcad) pointcd out, c.x s i h conservation is really only a stop gap. Rlost of the spccics \ve are dealing with have t)ccti around for millions of years - how fragile tlicti is a spccics‘ existence i n a grccnhousc or rcfrigcrator (as a seed) ~vlicrc it single srri-iccs failure or industrial action can spell disaster. Even xvith hardy plants in gardens i t is difficult to maintain Imt l i proper records and the genetic purit? of tlic stock from gcwcratiori to grncratioii. Self-maintaining populations in natui.al rcscr\xx must be tlic aim. Froni this standpoint i t may be unclcrstood t l i a t cclucation is likcl!- to be n g-ardcn‘s greatest contributioii to cotiscr\xtioti.

‘1’0 rcaturn t o this article‘s introductor). question ‘\\‘hat can i v r do?‘. ‘l’lic infornicd public kno\v tlic causrs: thc o\.er-cxploitiition, drforvstatioti and pollutioti ( J ~ O U ~ plaiict, know t h a t liccpiiig a rarc plant in a garden is,just a short term cxpdicnt i f its haliirat has goiic forc\.c.r, hul lias )-ct t o conic t o terms \ i i t l i riic Ltio\vlcdgc that t o rc\-crsc this pattcrn the ~ ~ r y \-slurs of socirt) - t h ( x constant incrcasc. offiimil!. and the cvcr-increasing consumer cspcct;itioti of ctilinticccl lircst) Irs. must cliangc. \\’e cmiiot. ;IS o u r past

11 clcniaricling more f‘rom the \vorld’s finite resources. I f socict!. docs i i o t cI.cntuall>. acldrcss itself to tlic scnsihlc u s r of \vorld rcso~~i-ccs . tlirii ii bleak atid \.cry silent spring aivaits.

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