Getting here - Kew
By train. Kew Bridge station is 800m from Elizabeth Gate, via Kew Bridge.South West Trains run services from Waterloo, via Vauxhall and Clapham Junction. There is no level access at Kew Bridge. Richmond station has lift and level access. Take 65 bus (in the direction of Ealing Broadway) to Lion or Victoria Gate.
History of Kew
1759: Princess Augusta, mother of King George III, founds a nine-acre botanic garden within the pleasure grounds at Kew.; 1762: William Chambers builds the Great Pagoda.; 1768: Joseph Banks sends seeds to Kew whilst on Captain Cook's voyage to South Seas, and becomes Kew's first unofficial director on his return.; 1772: Francis Masson, Kew's first plant collector, goes to …
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | Kew
Jan 1, 2025 · Discover a world of science hiding behind our beautiful botanical collections filled with over 40,000 living plants
Name and synonymy resources - Kew
Contains accepted names and over 1,020,000 synonyms for more than 343,000 plant species. It is the most comprehensive and actively curated dataset on plant taxonomy, created in collaboration with scientists from around the globe. Taxonomic information from WCVP is used in Plants of the World Online ...
Welwitschia mirabilis - Kew
Across the harsh environment of the northern Namib desert, a truly unique plant has been flourishing almost unchanged for thousands of years. Welwitschia mirabilis, often just referred to as Welwitschia, can survive for hundreds of years in the arid desert by absorbing water from sea fog and deep groundwater. Welwitschia play a key role in the desert ecosystem, providing …
Balsa tree - Ochroma pyramidale - Kew
Valued across the world for its strong but light wood, the balsa tree is native to the rainforests of South America. Over 95% of balsa wood comes from Ecuador, where it is grown in dense plantations. Balsa trees grow incredibly rapidly, reaching nearly 30 metres in under 15 years, but rarely live beyond 35 years.
Contact details Get in touch with us: Visitor information: 020 8332 5655 Email: [email protected] First aid or emergency helpline: 020 8332 3333 (or staff at ticket offices)
Titan arum - Amorphophallus titanum | Plants - Kew
Titan arum has the world’s largest unbranched inflorescence (flowering structure) that can reach 3m tall.. When titan arum bloomed for the second time at Kew in 1926, it attracted such big crowds that the police were called to control them.. When in bloom, titan arum’s flower spike (spadix) produces heat.
Edible fig - Ficus carica - Kew
Over eleven thousand years ago, the fig became what was probably the first cultivated fruit in human history. In the Quran, the fig is described as being a ‘perfect’ fruit, as it contains no pits of any kind. In 2021, over 1.3 million tonnes of figs were produced worldwide, with much of the production coming from the ancestral home of the fruit, the Middle East.
Cacao tree - Theobroma cacao | Plants - Kew
One of the world’s most popular products, chocolate, comes from the cacao, or cocoa tree. It is made from cocoa beans: The seeds stored in the yellow fruit of the cacao tree. Cacao beans have been eaten by humans for thousands of years. The Mayans and Aztecs mixed ground cacao beans with chilli to make a bitter and spicy drink.