Darwin’s meadow revisited

Abstract

The plants growing in an English meadow near Charles Darwin’s home were meticulously surveyed by him 150 years ago, and now researchers are marking the anniversary by taking another look at the rich flora he uncovered. Nigel Williams reports. The plants growing in an English meadow near Charles Darwin’s home were meticulously surveyed by him 150 years ago, and now researchers are marking the anniversary by taking another look at the rich flora he uncovered. Nigel Williams reports. One hundred and fifty years since Charles Darwin first collected and surveyed the wildflowers and meadows of his family home, Down House — just 25 kilometres south of London — scientists from the Natural History Museum and conservationists from English Heritage have begun to retrace Darwin’s footsteps by replicating his meticulous observations. In 1855 Darwin recorded 142 different plants in Great Puckland’s Meadow, a 13-acre hayfield close to his house. He used these findings to support his theories and book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. Darwin wanted to demonstrate the degree of plant diversity on even a small plot of land and his efforts were probably the first recorded biodiversity audit in history. The new survey will compare current plant diversity with that of 150 years ago and provide a unique insight into plant life. The survey is part of a wider programme of activities to help develop identification skills of naturalists and wildlife enthusiasts and to provide visitors and schools with an appreciation of Darwin’s important historical and scientific legacy. All flowering plants, including cowslips, red clover, yarrow and yellow vetchling, will be collected over a one-year period and will provide a snapshot of the changes wrought over 150 years. “These meadows are incredibly valuable to our understanding of the natural world,” says Johannes Vogel, keeper of botany at the Natural History Museum. “The survey provides a rare insight into changes over the course of 150 years and will help us conserve these historically important meadows.” The survey will use the methods employed by Darwin alongside modern botanical survey techniques. Wildflower and conservation enthusiasts will be encouraged to help the survey and their findings will be collated and added to the Natural History Museum’s collections. They will be included in the botany collection soon to be housed in phase two of the Darwin Centre. This phase will provide new storage facilities to safeguard millions of specimens from the museum’s insect and plant collections, preserving them for generations to come. It will also provide new state-of-the-art laboratories for scientists and give visitor access to these important collections and the research they support. In addition to the survey a programme of events and activities, such as pond-dipping, wildlife displays and guided walks, will take place throughout the summer to build an understanding of the natural world and Darwin’s work and to celebrate the diversity of wildlife. Darwin’s home, gardens, meadows and surrounding landscape, owned by English Heritage, are a proposed World Heritage Site. Researchers and enthusiasts are hoping the new activities drawing together history and science will help bolster the bid for such status.