A study by Kew in collaboration with scientists in Ethiopia has shown that indigenous Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) is likely to be negatively impacted by climate change.

The future distribution of Arabica coffee was modelled under a range of climate change scenarios in order to identify priorities to facilitate decision making for conservation, monitoring and future research. Using distribution data, bioclimatic modelling was employed to examine future distribution with the HadCM3 climate model for three carbon emission scenarios (A1B, A2A, B2A) over three time intervals (2020, 2050, 2080).

The models showed a profoundly negative influence on indigenous Arabica across its natural range (southern Ethiopia and south eastern South Sudan). In a locality analysis the most favourable outcome was a c. 65% reduction in the number of pre-existing bioclimatically suitable localities and at worst an almost 100% reduction by 2080. In an area analysis the most favourable outcome is

Kew ScientistISSN: 0967-8018

Spring 2013 Issue 43

www.kew.org

News from The Living Col lect ions, The Herbarium and The Laboratories at Kew & Wakehurst P lace

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Caffeine improves bee memory

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a 38% reduction in suitable bioclimatic space and the least favourable a c. 90% reduction by 2080.

Based on known occurrences and ecological tolerances of Arabica, bioclimatic unsuitability places populations under severe stress and a high risk of extinction. Arabica coffee is confirmed as a climate-sensitive species, supporting data and inference that coffee plantations will be negatively impacted by climate change. PLoS ONE 7, e47981 (2012).

Contact: Dr Aaron Davis (a.davis@kew.org)

Caffeine is the naturally occurring drug most widely used by humans. In nature, though, it is reported to act as a bitter and toxic deterrent to herbivores, preventing leaves and seeds from being eaten. Research by a collaborative group at Kew, Newcastle University and the University of Dundee has now revealed a new and surprising ecological function of caffeine: Coffea and Citrus species secrete it into floral nectar, where it manipulates the memory of pollinating bees.

The researchers found that bees drugged with caffeine in nectar were three times more likely to remember a floral scent associated with a nectar reward than those that did not receive a caffeine dose. The team argue that this mechanism has evolved to maximise pollinator fidelity. In other words, bees laden with pollen are more likely to return to flowers of the same species when the nectar contains caffeine. Increased flower visits to the same species improve pollination success and lead to more seeds and hence more offspring for the plant.

This work was funded under the BBSRC Insect Pollinators Initiative and contributed to a new report that pollinator decline is a consequence of a combination of environmental factors including poor nutrition, pesticides and diseases. Understanding how bees choose to forage and return to food sources will help inform how landscapes could be better managed and potentially reinvigorate bee populations to protect our farming industry and countryside. Science 339, 1202 (2013); Front. Ecol. Environ. (in press) doi:10.1890/120126.

Contact: Prof. Phil Stevenson (p.stevenson@kew.org)

The influence of climate change on Arabica coffee

Aaron Davis (centre) and colleagues testing climate modelling in South Sudan in 2012.

E.Bladyka/Specialty Coffee A

ssociation of Am

erica

Dry processed coffee, Bale Mts, Ethiopia.

A. D

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Bee visiting a Citrus flower.

DirectionIncrEdibles

This year, Kew will become host to a spectacle of edible plants. The IncrEdibles festival runs from 25 May to 1 September and will take visitors on ‘a voyage through

surprising edible plants’, including features such as the Tutti Frutti boating lake, the Global Garden, Kew’s Tea Party and the Giant Vegetable Garden. The aim is to engage people to think about from where the food on their plates comes and also to illustrate the wonderful untapped diversity of food plants.

Behind the public face of IncrEdibles is, of course, a wealth of scientific discovery connected with edible plants. Kew has many science programmes investigating the diversity of food plants, their evolutionary relationships, their chemical and medicinal properties and their conservation. This research covers the length and breadth of edible plant families and includes food crops as diverse as grasses, coffee, orchids, yams and palms.

Looking to the future, the natural genetic diversity held within the wild relatives of crop species is vital to food security and a resource that potentially holds the key to our ability to adapt to a changing climate. Cultivated crops have often been bred over millennia for specific characteristics, and this has left them vulnerable to disease and changing weather patterns. However, the variation present in natural populations provides a potential source of vital genes for drought and disease resistance, even unexplored flavours, and could be utilised to create new, more diverse and resilient varieties of our staple crops. In a project with the Global Crop Diversity Trust, Kew scientists are safeguarding this untapped resource through the ex situ storage of the seed of crop wild relatives in the Millennium Seed Bank and providing conservation assessments of populations to identify those most at risk from extinction.

The IncrEdibles festival will bring these and many other stories to life and will showcase the fascinating plants we depend on every day in a wonderfully fun and engaging way, whilst also educating the public on important issues relating to food security and conservation. I look forward to seeing the festival unfold and hope that visitors will leave with the knowledge that Kew’s science has a real relevance to their everyday lives and the future of humankind.

Richard Deverell, Director

Honours & Awards

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Christine Leon (Project Manager, Chinese Medicinal Plants Authentication and Conservation Centre, RBG Kew) was awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours List 2013 for services to the UK-China Science Relationship.

Alec Pridgeon (Sainsbury Orchid Fellow) was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal by the Royal Horticultural Society on 11 April 2013 for services to orchid science.

Ana Giulietti (Research Associate, RBG Kew) received the 2013 José Cuatrecasas Medal for Excellence in Tropical Botany from the Smithsonian Institution in April 2013 for contributions to Eriocaulaceae systematics and the floristic exploration of the Chapada Diamante, service to the Sociedade Botânica do Brasil and influence on a generation of students.

Hugh Pritchard (Head of the Research Section, Seed Conservation Department, RBG Kew) was made an Honorary Fellow of Writtle Agricultural College in autumn 2012 for his contribution to the development of the College as a governor.

Kew Publishing won the Reference Book of the Year award at the Garden Media Guild Awards (29 November 2012) for Hardy Heathers from the Northern Hemisphere by Charles Nelson. Rachel Mason Dentinger won the New Writer of the Year award for three feature articles in Kew magazine.

The following students, co-supervised by Kew staff, successfully defended their PhD theses:

Simon Renny-Byfield, ‘Evolution of repetitive DNA in angiosperms: examples from Nicotiana allopolyploids’ (September 2012).

Michele Sanchez, ‘Conservation genetics and biogeography of the Caribbean pine (Pinus caribaea var. bahamensis) in the Bahaman archipelago’ (December 2012).

Rachel Walker, ‘Evolution and development of specialised floral traits in the South African ‘beetle daisy’ Gorteria diffusa Thunb.’ (December 2012).

Sophie Williams, ‘Improving plant conservation interventions through a better understanding of human decision-making’ (December 2012).

Cave nettlesSouthwestern China, Myanmar and northern Vietnam contain one of the oldest exposed outcrops of limestone in the world. Wei Yi-Gang (Chinese Academy of Sciences) and Alex Monro (Kew) have been exploring the caves and gorges in the area for species of nettles (Urticaceae). The explorations have so far yielded ten species new to science, seven from the genus Elatostema and three from Pilea – two species-rich genera of succulent nettles that together total probably more than 1,500 species. The new species often occur in only one or two localities and are restricted to the deep shade of forests, stream sides, gorges and caves. In the caves, they can grow deep within the entrance, sometimes in as little as 0.04% full sunlight. Phytotaxa 29, 1 (2011); PhytoKeys 19, 51 (2012).

Contact: Dr Alex Monro (a.monro@kew.org)

Hidden Worlds

Fungal endophytesNiche occupancy and specificity of non-mycorrhizal fungi within plants is not clearly understood due to a lack of studies characterising the fungal communities in roots and shoots simultaneously across time. Research by James Wearn has revealed that these endophytes are not as ubiquitous in plants as had been thought. Instead, these fungi exhibit both plant (among species and individuals of a species) and tissue specificity. Individual plants should be thought of as ecosystems of interacting microbes with a community structured by plant genetics and environmental conditions coupled with interactions between the microbes themselves. Plant development and productivity is affected by this internal mycota and often reliant on it. Action concerning the conservation and manipulation of plants should include an awareness of the microbiome rather than viewing plants in isolation. J. Ecol. 100, 1085 (2012).

Contact: Dr James Wearn (j.wearn@kew.org)

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Chris Leon (centre) and Chinese collaborators, Guizhou province, SW China.

Lin Yu-Lin

Fungal endophytes cultured from a leaf of Cirsium arvense.

J. Wearn

Nettles belonging to the genus Elatostema growing in Yangzi cave, China.

PhDs

Historical Biogeography

PalmsIn two studies, scientists at Kew and Aarhus University have investigated tropical biodiversity patterns in Madagascar and the Neotropics using the palm family (Arecaceae) as a model.

In Madagascar, palaeoclimate was found to have exerted a strong influence on palm species-richness, which peaks in areas with higher precipitation at the last glacial maximum, in particular in northeastern Madagascar, consistent with the persistence of tropical rainforest in this region at this time. The results provide empirical evidence for the importance of long-term climate history in shaping biodiversity hotspots. The study was funded by the Kew Friends Threatened Plants Appeal and the Bentham Moxon Trust.

In the Neotropical study, the determinants of clade turnover were examined. Continental-scale clade turnover was found to be driven by a combination of limited niche evolution and limited dispersal. These findings are consistent with the existence of strong dispersal barriers within the Neotropics and the observation that some palm lineages are most diverse in certain biomes or climates. The importance of such deep-time effects suggest that palms might be slow to adapt or disperse in response to anthropogenic climate change.

Contact: Dr Bill Baker (w.baker@kew.org)

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Kew scientists debate the factors that have influenced regional biodiversity and the distribution of plant families.

Cyanella alba (Tecophilaeaceae) in the Cape of South Africa. The distribution of Tecophilaeaceae has been influenced most by the fragmentation of Gondwana.

Tecophilaeaceae Tecophilaeaceae are a small family of 27 species and eight genera with a disjunct distribution in California, Chile and southern and tropical mainland Africa, and they occur in three Mediterranean-type ecosystems. Researchers from Kew and the South African National Biodiversity Institute investigated the historical biogrography of the family using a molecular approach. They found that the current distribution and diversification patterns were influenced mostly by the fragmentation of Gondwana and the establishment of Mediterranean climate in Chile where the genus Conanthera diversified. Unlike many groups previously studied, no increase in diversification was identified in the clade found mostly in the greater Cape region of South Africa. The family has a complex history, involving an origin of the African clade in subtropical Africa, despite its current predominance in arid environments, and the colonisation of Mediterranean-type ecosystems in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres before the establishment of these climates. Ann. Bot. 111, 361 (2013).

Contact: Dr Félix Forest (f.forest@kew.org)

A new book Ginkgo: The Tree That Time Forgot (Yale University Press, 2013; ISBN 978 0 3001 8751 9), by former Kew Director Peter Crane, was launched at Kew on 1 May 2013.

Asteropeia multiflora, a member of a genus endemic to Madagascar.

Madagascar endemicsA team led by Kew scientists have reviewed the current state of phylogenetic and biogeographical knowledge of the endemic angiosperm genera of Madagascar. The team proposed a model, based on palaeogeographical evidence, to infer the evolutionary history of Madagascar’s flora, in particular the implications of climate change and extinction events on endemic genera. The study confirms the strong floristic affinities with Africa, Southeast Asia and India and also supports an Eocene/Oligocene onset for the origin of the Madagascar generic endemic flora, with the majority arising in the Miocene or more recently. The results de-emphasize the importance of the Gondwanan break-up on the evolution of the flora. There is, however, some fossil evidence suggesting that recent extinctions in southern Africa – e.g. Sarcolaenaceae (a current Madagascar endemic) – might blur vicariance patterns and favour dispersal explanations for current biodiversity patterns. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 171, 304 (2013).

Contact: Dr Sven Buerki (s.buerki@kew.org)

Neotropical biodiversityThere has been a major shift in thinking regarding biogeographical relationships of most Neotropical plant groups, which previously has assumed major involvement of plate tectonics. Maarten Christenhutsz (Finnish Museum of Natural History) and Mark Chase (Kew) have reviewed the evidence, arising from molecular systematics and recent improvements in assessing timing of branching events (molecular clocks), for long-distance dispersal playing a much larger role in explaining current distributions. Families exhibiting this include Fabaceae and Lauraceae, which, in spite of the unlikely dispersal qualities of their generally large seeds, exhibit many instances of long-distance dispersal occurring throughout their evolutionary history. This result is so frequent that long-distance dispersal is the most probable explanation to account for the current distributions of the great majority of land plant families. However, in some old lineages with small propagules that appear well adapted to long-distance dispersal, such as the fern family Marattiaceae and angiosperm family Orchidaceae, the distribution pattern suggests that tectonics is the primary factor, which most likely has to do with their specialized life-history strategies that have made establishment difficult. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 171, 277 (2013).

Contact: Prof. Mark Chase (m.chase@kew.org)

Erythronium systematicsSpecies relationships within Erythronium (Liliaceae) and its relationship to Amana have been examined by researchers from Kew. Phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences from two plastid loci and one nuclear locus together with morphological characters (developed through observation of around 900 living and herbarium specimens) established that the genus is probably sister to Amana, although most analyses placed Amana inside Erythronium, and that Tulipa is sister to the pair of Erythronium and Amana. Within Erythronium, species grouped into Eurasian and eastern and western North American clades. Separation of species within these clades was less clear, particularly among the western North American taxa, although two previously subsumed taxa, E. howellii and E. idahoense, were supported as valid species. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 170, 504 (2012).

Contact: Dr Chris Clennett (c.clennett@kew.org)

F. Forest

C. C

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Erythronium howellii, retained as a valid

species, in habitat in southern Oregon, USA.

F. Forest

Kew and the Global Crop Diversity Trust are collaborating in a ten year project ‘Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change’. Wild relatives of crops are the greatest sources of untapped diversity, in particular for adaptive characteristics needed for new crop varieties in future climates. Kew is using its herbarium and seed bank holdings data to contribute to a gap analysis of crop wild relatives carried out by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture. The results are prioritising species for collection, and Kew is producing field guides to aid the identification and collection of high-quality seed material. The Millennium Seed Bank Partnership and other institutes start collecting seed this year, and samples will be passed to specialist pre-breeders for characterisation and evaluation.

Contact: Dr Ruth Eastwood (r.eastwood@kew.org)

Through its yam research programme, Kew is providing scientific data contributing to improving food security and conserving yam diversity in some of the lowest GDP per capita countries.

In the southern and western parts of Ethiopia, cultivated (Dioscorea rotundata, D. cayenensis) and forest (D. abyssinica, D. praehensilis) guinea yams are a staple source of dietary starch with the banana relative Ensete ventricosum. The diversity of these guinea yams was much less well understood than the same species in West Africa. Kew scientists and researchers from Ethiopia and Norway have used molecular markers to show that there is continuous variation and hence gene flow between wild and cultivated populations of guinea yams linked to the process of taking forest yams into cultivation, called ‘ennoblement’. They are thus likely to form a single biological species with morphological variation increased through their mode of cultivation. The greatest diversity was found in wild yams in the south west Sheko region, indicating their importance for conservation as sources of potentially useful genes for cultivated yam amelioration.

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Crop wild relatives

Pre-domesticated cropsA three-year project between Unilever, Kew and Cranfield University, funded by the UK Government-backed Technology Strategy Board, is studying pre-domesticated varieties of crop plants, using techniques in bioanalytical science and genomics. Pre-domesticated varieties have been changed relatively little by breeding and may contain significantly higher levels of phytonutrients beneficial to humans than the varieties currently used in food production. Preliminary research by Unilever found that an older variety of apple, the Egremont Russet, contained up to 10 times more of a phytonutrient than some modern varieties. As part of the study, the consortium will also attempt to identify more nutritious varieties of plums and tea.

Contact: Prof. Monique Simmonds (m.simmonds@kew.org)

Taxonomists provide names to plant breeders and genebank curators, which is critical for identifying wild relatives of cultivated plants and essential for breeding new food crops. Species naming is often confusing in crop wild relatives, and aubergines (eggplants) are worse than most. Spiny wild aubergines in Africa and Asia show amazing morphological variability. Almost every taxonomic treatment has recognised different species, and the Latin species names compete with informal group names used by plant breeders. Morphology-based taxonomic work using thousands of herbarium specimens and a compilation of all historic names has been combined with DNA sequence analysis to present a reference to

Edible PlantsKew’s 2013 festival ’IncrEdibles’ highlights edible plants and fungi. Research on food plants at Kew focuses on the diversity, conservation and potential benefits wild relatives.

Harvesting cultivated winged yams in the Ikongo region.

T. Randriamboavonjy

Improving food security and conserving yam diversityWild and cultivated yams are also key carbohydrate sources in Madagascar. Working in the south-central Ikongo region, Kew researchers and NGO partners Feedback Madagascar used survey methods to investigate the preferences of community members for cultivated winged (D. alata) and wild species of yams. Respondents preferred cultivated yams to the species of wild yam presented, in contrast to previous work in eastern Madagascar. The wealth of the respondent did not affect the strong preference for winged yam. Even so, villagers are still collecting seven times the number of tubers from the forest than they are cultivating. The higher value put on cultivated yams suggests that there is substantial scope for increased local yam cultivation and increased exchange of cultivated tubers between the villages of the region to simultaneously increase food security and conserve wild yam species. To this end, Kew and Feedback Madagascar have supplied both ‘seed’ yams (tubers for growing) to villages in the Ikongo region and expertise both to grow yams and produce further seed yams for subsequent seasons. Genet. Resour. Crop Ev. 60, 529 & 1365 (2013).

Contact: Dr Paul Wilkin (p.wilkin@kew.org)

Names of spiny wild aubergine untangledspecies identification and the correct names for the wild aubergines – a clade of ten species in Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum in the family Solanaceae. Solanum aureitomentosum, S. cerasiferum, S. rigidum and S. umtuma from tropical Africa, South Africa and the Cape Verde have not been used for breeding work before. Solanum insanum is the closest relative of the cultivated aubergine and is the most difficult to distinguish from it morphologically: a combination of seven characters is needed to tell these species apart. Aubergine breeders and germplasm scientists can now use this work to identify their wild aubergines and update their names. PLoS ONE 8, e57039 (2013).

Contact: Dr Maria Vorontsova (m.vorontsova@kew.org)

Solanum insanum L. is the closest known relative of the cultivated aubergine and has many names: S. melongena group E, S. melongena group F, S. undatum, S. cumingii and also, incorrectly, S. incanum.

M. V

orontsova

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Crops and Chemistry

Biochemical research on crop-related issues has revealed some surprises.

Elderflower surpriseWhile assessing the authenticity and quality of traded plant extracts during a project on ‘Quality botanical extracts for skin and health products’, funded by EPSRC and Procter & Gamble, Kew scientists were surprised to detect major chemical constituents in a commercial extract of elderflower (inflorescences of Sambucus nigra) that had not been reported in the scientific literature. Following isolation of the compounds from elder inflorescences collected from Kew Gardens it was established that the compounds were derivatives of spermidines, some of which were new to science. The compounds were located in the pollen and provide useful markers to authenticate elderflower extracts. The research reveals how new chemical discoveries are still possible not only from common British plants but even from the food and drink we consume, as the new compounds were readily detected in commercial elderflower drinks. J. Agric. Food Chem. 61, 3501 (2013).

Contact: Prof. Monique Simmonds (m.simmonds@kew.org)

G. K

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Growing the wrong TephrosiaSynthetic pesticides can be problematic in African farming systems due to environmental persistence, exposure to hazardous chemicals, cost and adulteration (dilution) by unscrupulous traders. Pesticidal plants provide the poorest farmers with a low-cost alternative that is environmentally benign and less toxic. Working with University of Greenwich’s Natural Resources Institute and Mzuzu University in Malawi, Kew has been optimising the use of pesticidal plants by determining mechanisms of activity and understanding better the behaviour and variability of the target pests.

Tephrosia vogelii is a popular pesticidal plant in Africa, although surveys in Malawi revealed it was not always effective. This has been explained by the identification of two phenotypes that differ chemically. One contains insecticidal rotenoids, whereas the other does not and is ineffective at controlling insects. Approximately 25% of farmers were found

Tephrosia vogelii.

P. Stevenson

to be using the ineffective plant material in an attempt to control pests. This information has helped optimise processing and application of Tephrosia. Farmers typically use water to extract the active chemicals, but rotenoids are only sparingly soluble in water. Adding liquid soap – a cheap and easily available additive – greatly improves extraction efficiency and increases efficacy by acting as a spreading and sticking agent. Phytochemistry 78, 135 (2012); PLoS ONE 7, e49071 (2012); J. Agric. Food Chem. 60, 10055 (2012).

Contact: Prof. Phil Stevenson (p.stevenson@kew.org)

C4 photosynthesis enables better fixation of carbon dioxide in hot dry climates: this physiological and biochemical invention has global importance in determining primary terrestrial productivity and the Earth’s carbon balance. Why has C4 evolved in some groups but not in others? C4 photosynthesis is more complicated than the more common C3 pathway and concentrates carbon dioxide in special cells around vascular bundles in the leaves (bundle sheath cells). It is easier to shift to C4 in a plant where the bundle sheath cells are larger and the bundle sheaths are close together. Measuring cells of 157 grass species and carrying out a statistical reconstruction confirms the importance of cell sizes in ancient

grasses. Ancestors of grasses in the PACMAD clade (modern members include maize, sugar cane and sorghum) happened to have both large outer and inner sheath cells and bundle sheaths close to one another. Their competitors in the BEP clade (modern members include rice, wheat, oats, barley and bamboo) had bundle sheaths cells that were too small. PACMAD grasses could concentrate more carbon dioxide in their bundle sheaths when the atmospheric carbon dioxide levels fell during the Cenozoic period, and 22–24 members this group went on the develop different forms of C4 photosynthesis. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 110, 1381 (2013).

Dr Maria Vorontsova (m.vorontsova@kew.org)

New Books

The Story of Kew Gardens in Photographs (by L. Parker & K. Ross-Jones; Arcturus Publishing/RBG Kew, 2013; 978 1 78212 059 9) tells the fascinating history of Kew Gardens through over 250 black and white photographs sourced from Kew’s archives. Almost all the photographs are previously unpublished, including behind-the-scenes images of what life was like for Kew scientists and horticulturists in the past.

The Plant Hunters ibook (by C. Fry; Kew Publishing/Andre Deutsch, 2012) is an iPad version of the book telling the story of our obsession with plants. The ibook provides a new way to access Kew’s collections and knowledge, bringing historic documents to life through video and audio transcriptions and allowing botanical illustrations and historic maps to be enlarged. Available from iTunes.

Hardy Cypripedium: Species, Hybrids and Cultivation (by W. Frosch & P. Cribb; Kew Publishing, 2012; ISBN 978 1 84246 464 9) is a photographic account of the 50 species and 100 hybrids of Cypripedium, aimed mainly at orchid growers. Accompanying descriptions of taxa include cultivation methods and source nurseries.

Guide d’Identification des Arbres du Burkina Faso (by M. Sacande, L. Sanou & H. Beentje; Kew Publishing, 2012; ISBN 978 1 84246 470 0) is the result of over ten years collaboration with the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership. The book describes, in French, some 226 woody plant species from Burkina Faso, with accompanying keys, photographs, distribution maps and local names and uses.

Genus Cyclamen (ed. B. Mathew; Kew Publishing/The Cyclamen Soc., 2013; ISBN: 978 1 84246 472 4) is a celebration of this genus of 23 species, with chapters on taxonomic description, distribution, cultivation, history and art by cyclamen experts.

Order Kew Publishing books from kewbooks.com

Anatomical enablers of C4 photosynthesis

Seed Quality and StorageWhat are hard seeds for?Hard seeds are prevented from germinating by a water-impermeable seed coat, and this has been considered to be a dormancy mechanism. Scientists from Kew, the University of Bergen and the University of Sheffield have proposed an alternative ‘crypsis hypothesis’: hard seeds evolved to hide from mammalian predators.

The team offered desert hamsters the dimorphic seeds (hard and soft) of two legumes (Robinia pseudoacacia and Vicia sativa) either on top of or buried in dry or wet gravel. The hamsters readily detected hard and soft seeds on the gravel surface and soft seeds buried in wet gravel, but hard seeds buried beneath either dry or wet gravel remained undiscovered. Soft seeds imbibe water in wet gravel and analysis showed that volatile emissions increased due to the resumption of metabolism. Hamsters could locate buried vials containing mixtures of chemicals that mimicked the scent of imbibed soft seeds, confirming that seed volatiles were the olfactory cue for discovery of buried caches.

Hard seededness occurs in only 15 plant families, but it is a frequent trait in hot deserts where granivory by small rodents exerts strong selection pressure on seeds to evolve methods of avoiding detection. New Phytol. 198, 496 (2013).

Contact: Dr Louise Colville (l.colville@kew.org)

RBG K

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In response to the increasing threats to UK native trees from pests and diseases, Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank Partnership is establishing the UK’s first national collection of tree seeds. The ‘UK National Tree Seed Project’ will build on the existing Millennium Seed Bank collections so they eventually represent the full genetic diversity of the UK’s tree populations. The seeds will be available to researchers working on the threats facing UK trees, and ultimately the seed can be used for restoration work. The Forestry Commission is a key partner, providing advice on target species and help with collecting seeds, and the project is funded by players of the People’s Postcode Lottery.

Contact: Dr Paul Smith (p.smith@kew.org)

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Juniperus communis is a target species for the ‘UK National Tree Seed Project,. The species is quite rare in Britain and is at risk from the fungus-like pathogen Phytophthora austrocedrae.

Tree Seeds

Initiatives to establish new quality seed collections are backed up by research on storage.

Kew is a partner in a new €2.93 million project called ‘EcoSeed: Impacts of Environmental Conditions on Seed Quality’, part of the EU 7th Framework Programme ‘Cooperation’. EcoSeed brings together European experts in seed and related sciences to characterise seed quality and resilience to environmental perturbation. It will combine ‘omics’ and post-’omics’ approaches to define regulatory switchboards that underpin the seed phenotype and, in particular, the stress signalling hub that determines seed fate from development through storage, germination and development, so identifying novel markers of seed quality.

Contact: Prof. Hugh Pritchard (h.pritchard@kew.org)

EcoSeed

Kew scientists with researchers from the Food and Environment Research Agency have investigated seed volatile analysis as a non-destructive means of diagnosing seed viability. Oxidative damage during seed ageing gives rise to volatile compounds that can be detected within the storage containers. During artificial ageing of orthodox seeds of three species (Lathyrus pratensis, Pisum sativum and Cytisus scoparius) and desiccation of recalcitrant seeds of Quercus robur, the onset of seed deterioration could be detected prior to viability loss through the release of volatile compounds derived from alcoholic fermentation, lipid peroxidation and Maillard reactions. Methanol was the most promising candidate volatile marker for seed viability. The study provides valuable information on the ageing process in seeds, and represents progress towards developing a non-destructive technique for assessing the viability of seed collections. J. Exp. Bot. 63, 6519 (2012).

Contact: Dr Louise Colville (l.colville@kew.org)

New releases of two Millennium Seed Bank Partnership seed lists are available, one for organisations requesting seed under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), the second for all other requests for use in research, habitat restoration and species re-introductions.

http://data.kew.org/seedlist/

New seed lists

The desert hamster (Phodopus roborovskii) uses its sense of smell to detect soft, permeable seeds buried beneath wet gravel. Hard, impermeable seeds do not imbibe and therefore escape detection.

Wallace’s palms conservedEleven large palm specimens collected by Alfred Russel Wallace have been conserved to mark the Wallace centenary year, thanks to an anonymous donation to the Kew Foundation. Nine of the specimens were collected on Wallace’s first and formative expedition to the Amazon. These were sent to William Jackson Hooker in 1848 for the Economic Botany Museum. They represent a rare record of Wallace’s early development as a naturalist, because the majority of his Amazon collections were lost in a fire on board ship that almost claimed Wallace’s life as well. The palm specimens will be exhibited at a number of venues during the Wallace centenary year.

Contact: Mark Nesbitt (m.nesbitt@kew.org)

Volatile clues to seed viability

Seeds of Cytisus scoparius.

T. Paulsen

Palm specimen collected by Wallace

RBG K

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W. Baker

Island Biodiversity

Islands continue to yield new species while research attempts to understand their evolution and aid their conservation.

Speciation systems on Lord Howe Island

Howea belmoreana and H. forsteriana have evolved into

separate species while growing

together on Lord Howe Island

Previous research on Lord Howe Island revealed that in several distantly related plant genera speciation has taken place without geographic isolation. In a new study, a team from Kew, Imperial College London, the University of Sheffield and Lord Howe Island used genetic and ecological data to investigate whether or not speciation processes in each genus were driven by divergent natural selection. The researchers found genetic evidence of divergent selection between species, as well as further evidence of adaptation within species. Hybridisation between species still takes place in Howea and Coprosma, but the distinctiveness of

the species is maintained, most likely due to selection against hybrids imposed by competition for resources. Genetic analyses of Coprosma populations led to the discovery of a distinct hybrid population that is a putative sixth species of Coprosma to have evolved from a single ancestor that colonised the island less than 7 million years ago. This provides some of the most compelling evidence in plants for the ‘syngameon hypothesis’ – that hybridisation is an important source of genetic variation during adaptive radiations. J. Evol. Biol., 26, 733 (2012).

Contact: Dr William Baker (w.baker@kew.org)

Among the UK Overseas Territories, St Helena has the highest proportion (53%) of endemic vascular plant species. The recent field guide, Flowering Plants and Ferns of St Helena (by P. Lambdon; Pisces Publications, 2013; ISBN 978 1 874357 52 0), recognises 45 endemic species and 40 probable native species, most of which are under serious threat from invasive alien species with ten endemic species down to less than 100 individuals in the wild. Against this challenging conservation backdrop, a new species of endemic grass has been described. Eragrostis episcopulus is a perennial grass found in small populations clinging to remote cliff tops in the south and east of the island. It is Critically Endangered due to imminent threats from invasive species. Seed has been stored in the Millennium Seed Bank, and an ex situ collection has been established in the Tropical Nursery at Kew. Kew Bull. 68, 121 (2013).

Contact: Dr Colin Clubbe (c.clubbe@kew.org)

Eragrostis episcopulus on St. Helena

C. C

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During fieldwork for the ‘Palms of New Guinea’ project, scientists from Kew and the Universitas Negeri Papua discovered four remarkable new palms from the adjacent islands of Biak and Supiori. The most remarkable of these is a spectacular new tree palm with arching leaves and bat-wing leaflets that has been shown to be a member of Adonidia, a genus that formally comprised a single species endemic to Palawan and northern Borneo, representing a dramatic new disjunction across Wallace’s line in the palm family. Am. J. Bot. 98, 1716 (2011); Palms 56, 131 (2012).

Contact: Dr William Baker (w.baker@kew.org)

Adonidia maturbongsii, a new palm species found on Biak.

First flowering of Montserrat orchidEpidendrum montserratense is a small epiphytic orchid endemic to Montserrat, where the loss of its habitat to volcanic ash threatens its future. Seeds were collected in Montserrat in 2008 for long-term banking in the Millennium Seed Bank and propagation in Kew’s nurseries. After several years of dedicated care in controlled conditions both in micropropagation and conventional horticulture, the first flowers to be seen in the UK emerged in November 2012. The growing skills developed are shared with Montserratian partners who are caring for this threatened orchid in the nursery in the Montserrat National Botanic Garden.

Contact: Marcella Corcoran (m.corcoran@kew.org)Policy Guides LaunchedAn Explanatory Guide to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing (by T. Greiber et al.; IUCN, 2012; ISBN 978 2 8317 1529 2) was launched on 10 October 2012 at the 11th meeting of the CBD Conference of the Parties in Hyderabad, India. The guide, co-authored by China Williams and Natasha Ali from Kew, facilitates a clear understanding of the text of the Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit-sharing and the resulting obligations for the Parties to the Protocol.

CITES and Cacti: a User Guide (by M. Sajeva et al.; Kew Publishing, 2012) covers regulation of the cactus trade by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species

(CITES). The book was officially launched by Kew’s Director, Richard Deverell, at a seminar held by the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime on 12 February 2013.

New palms from Biak and Supiori

Epidendrum montserratense

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W. Baker

New grass from St Helena

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Kew ScientistRoyal Botanic Gardens, Kew,Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AB.Tel: +44 (0)20 8332 5000Fax: +44 (0)20 8332 5310Internet: www.kew.org

Editorial advisory teamDr W. Baker, Dr C. Clennett, Dr C. Clubbe, Dr F. Forest, P. Griffiths, Dr R. de Kok, Dr G. Lewis, N. McGough, M. Ramsay, N. Rothwell, Dr P. Rudall, Prof. M. Simmonds, Dr P. Toorop, R. Wilford

Editor Dr M. FayProduction Editor Dr G. KiteDesign Design & Photography, RBG Kew

Published in Spring and Autumn.

Printed on uncoated, 100% recycled paper.

Pasqueflower restorationThis spring, restoration ecologists at Kew will undertake field studies in the UK to understand better the regeneration niche and pollination mechanism of the calcareous grassland rarity Anemone pulsatilla (syn. Pulsatilla vulgaris; pasqueflower). As part of a project part-funded by Natural England, fieldwork will take place at a site in the Chilterns in collaboration with the National Trust. One study aims to determine the optimum regeneration conditions for pasqueflower through the manipulation of microsite conditions and seedling herbivory, and the use of primed seed. Seed priming will be performed by staff at the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership and is part of ongoing work into the benefits of seed priming for use in restoration. Another study will use a new automated motion- and vision-sensitive recording system (Rana) to record flower-visiting insects to pasqueflowers throughout the flowering season. Rana, developed by Tumbling Dice Ltd, is a major advance in the study of plant-pollinator interactions, and this study is one of the first to use it.

Contact: Dr Sarah Barlow (s.barlow@kew.org)

Kew scientists have been active in the ‘arc of deforestation’ of Brazil’s southern Amazon (Mato Grosso) since 2006, initially supporting conservation planning and decision-making in new and emerging protected areas and concentrating on capacity building, vegetation mapping and floristic research. Now, with better botanical baseline information available, the focus has turned to supporting local organisations in their efforts to restore biodiversity and ecosystems in a degraded landscape.

With a grant from Defra’s International Sustainable Development Fund in 2012, Kew has provided technical support to Instituto Ouro Verde (IOV), a local non-governmental organisation, helping smallholders restore forest alongside deforested water courses on their land. IOV’s project works with a combination of native species and agroforestry systems, and faces considerable technical challenges with plant identification and seed viability.

Following visits by staff from the Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank Partnership and Herbarium and the provision of species recognition and seed storage data for native species currently and potentially handled by the project, IOV has been able to improve the accuracy of its seed collecting programme and, through improved handling and storage, achieve better results from its planting. Kew’s

Restoration ProgressKew’s new programme in restoration ecology is progressing both in the UK and overseas

input also supported a multi-stakeholder workshop to establish monitoring systems for agroforestry and reforestation in the region and funded the construction of a research centre, nursery and seed store.

The first monitoring based on the system developed during this workshop was successfully completed in March 2013. Ongoing research at the new facility, officially opened in 2013, will continue to refine methodologies for restoration in the region.

Contact: Dr William Milliken (w.milliken@kew.org)

Temperate House restorationRBG Kew has secured a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £14.7m for the restoration of the historic Temperate House at Kew Gardens. This will not only enable vital conservation of the Grade One listed heritage building, the largest Victorian glasshouse in the world, but will also result in a more inspiring public display for visitors and help broaden awareness of the importance of plants through learning and engagement programmes with community groups. The project will return the Temperate House to its former glory, restructure the plant displays and rejuvenate the existing plant collection. The adjoining Evolution House will be converted into a centre for public engagement, supported by a bespoke volunteer programme.

Restoration in the southern Amazon

Sowing seeds of native trees on a small

farm, Mato Grosso.

Kew’s Temperate House.

RBG K

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RBG Kew receives about half its funding from the UK Government through the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

P. Gasson

Anemone pulsatilla (pasqueflower).

W. M

illiken