Wakehurst Place Research Articles

Getting precious seed on hold

Ambitious plans for the world's largest seed bank for wild plant species are now a reality with the recent opening of the Millenium Seed Bank (MSB) at Wakehurst Place in southern England under the direction of the world-famous Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew near London. With the infrastructure in place, one of the key goals for the coming years is to collect seed from a substantial proportion of the world's flora. By 2010, the MSB aims to have in store 10% of the world's known seed-producing flora (around 24,000 species). Although located in the UK, and with a head start on collection of seed from local species, one of the main aims of the MSB will be to collect seed from the world's semi-arid ecosystems which represent some of the most globally fragile and vulnerable regions. Alongside seed collection, major research projects are under way to look at the mechanisms of seed dormancy and methods to delay the decline in viability of seeds which survive only for short periods under natural conditions, building on work already developed at Kew and at other centres. The MSB will work with many organisations in other countries under the guidelines established under the Convention on Biological Diversity, which respect national sovereignty and support national biodiversity conservation strategies. The MSB is also establishing a major training program in seed conservation. Public access is provided with an interactive exhibition and large windows connecting the display with the seed processing and research labs where members of the public can watch seed conservers and researchers in action.Fig. 1

Dendroclimatological observations on trees at Kew and Wakehurst Place: event and pointer years

The growth responses to varying meteorological conditions of a number of trees grown at Kew Gardens and Wakehurst Place are investigated. Event years for each tree-ring series are identified and then pointer years for all trees recognized and related to weather records. The use of pointer years has highlighted the similarity in growth characteristics throughout a range of taxa in the more extreme years. The strongest pointer year, 1958, coincides with a warm wet summer. Narrow rings generally correlate well with known periods of agricultural drought for the trees grown at Kew. Response functions for oaks and hickories are also presented. Several individual Kew trees have growth patterns which cross-match with oak site chronologies from southern England using standard dendrochronological techniques.

The effects of herbivory and vegetation on laboratory-raised Dactylorhiza praetermissa (Orchidaceae) planted into grassland in Southern England

Symbiotically-propagated seedlings of the southern marsh orchid Dactylorhiza praetermissa were planted into a meadow at Wakehurst Place, Southern England and followed for 30 months. Most mortality in the first growing season could be attributed to either mammals or pheasants. Fencing was effective in eliminating herbivory by mammals. Application of molluscicide did not always prevent mollusc grazing. No seedlings survived the first winter in areas dominated by dense Juncus articulatus. The majority of the remaining plants flowered or produced a second rosette of leaves within three years of planting. The practical implications of these results in the introduction of D. praetermissa and other orchids to natural vegetation are discussed.

An Introduction to Dendrochronological Work on Windblown Trees at Kew and Wakehurst Place

An Introduction to Dendrochronological Work on Windblown Trees at Kew and Wakehurst Place

England Before and After the Hurricane of 1987

The October 1986 hurricane that struck southern England was the first of its magnitude since 1703. Extensive destruction and damage occurred to numerous old trees in forests and gardens. Morris Arboretum arborists traveled from Philadelphia to Sussex County, England to help the staff of Wakehurst Place (an outpost of Royal Botanic Garden, Kew) restore their garden. While there we observed damage patterns, and tree species wind tolerance while noting significance tree losses to the scientific collections and garden landscapes. The Royal Botanic Garden's data collection forms may prove useful to American arborists in collecting and analyzing storm damage data. The Morris Arboretum team cleared debris from a winter interest garden, removed overhead hazards from a half mile of walking paths, and made life-long friends of grateful Wakehurst staff.

Root Anatomy of 17 Genera Growing in the British Isles

Roots of 23 woody species are described anatomically. They are mostly from species uncommonly planted in the British Isles, and were unavailable at the time the Root Identification Manual of Trees and Shrubs (Cutler et al. 1987) was being written. They were collected from trees blown down in the stonn of October 1987, which uprooted over 15 million trees in the south and east of England. All but one (Tetracentron sinensis) are from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, or Wakehurst Place.

RECOVERY FROM THE 1987 STORM AT WAKEHURST PLACE

Curtis's Botanical MagazineVolume 6, Issue 3 p. 134-139 RECOVERY FROM THE 1987 STORM AT WAKEHURST PLACE Mark Flanagan, Mark FlanaganSearch for more papers by this author Mark Flanagan, Mark FlanaganSearch for more papers by this author First published: August 1989 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8748.1989.tb00334.xAboutPDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume6, Issue3August 1989Pages 134-139 RelatedInformation

Effects of Desiccation and Cryopreservation on theIn VitroViability of Embryos of the Recalcitrant Seed SpeciesAraucaria hunsteiniiK. Schum

Pritchard, H. W. and Prendergast, F. G. 1986. Effects of desiccation and cryopreservation on the in vitro viability of embryos of the recalcitrant seed species (Araucaria hunsteinii K. Shum.—J. exp. Bot. 37: 1388-1397. Embryos excised from fresh seed had a moisture content of about 37% (fr. wt.), 7% above that of the whole seed: mainly as a result of the dryness of the seed coat. When cultured for 14 d at 26 °C embryo growth ranged from unorganized to fully organized. Embryos which had been directly surface sterilized exhibited lower fully organized growth than aseptically excised embryos. During desiccation of the whole seed at 15 °C and 15% r.h. moisture loss from the embryo was slow until the embryo reached a mean critical moisture content for fully organized growth in vitro of about 30%. After this point the rate of moisture loss increased, quickly diminishing the moisture content differential between the embryo and the whole seed. No such shoulder in the embryo desiccation curve was observed when using a low viability (7%) seed batch. When dried below 30% moisture content, such aseptically excised embryos increasingly exhibited unorganized growth in vitro, with only root meristem survival (46%) at 13% moisture content. In contrast, a much higher level of root meristem survival (84% of control) was observed when aseptically excised embryos were rapidly desiccated to 13% moisture content, using a flow of sterile air. However, the benefits of rapid drying were lost if the embryos were directly surface-sterilized prior to desiccation. Furthermore, 80% of aseptically excised embryos which survived rapid desiccation to 20% moisture content exhibited root meristem survival following subsequent cryopreservation. These findings have implications for the in vitro conservation of recalcitrant seed tissue. Key words— Araucaria hunsteinii K. Schum., recalcitrant seed embryo, desiccation, cryopreservation. Correspondence to: Jodrell Laboratory, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Wakehurst Place, Ardingly, Sussex RH17 6TN, U.K.