YPS Kent - June 2007
Wakehurst
Place
Wakehurst
Place is joint venture between Kew
Botanical Gardens and the National Trust.
The site
also holds the millenium seed bank project. As one would
expect with a site
involving Kew there are some wonderful unusual plant
specimens.
To view larger versions of these images click on the photograph. This
will takeyou to the Picasa website, where you can view the images in more detail..
 |
 Parahebe perfoliata |
 Astrantia Hadspen Blood |
 Fabiana imbriata Violacea |
 Crinodendron Hookeriana |
 Crinodendron Hookeriana |
 Cornus Wilsonii |
 Cornus Wilsonii bark |
 Cornus kousa flower |
 Chilean Firebush - Embothrium coccinium |
 Japanese Iris area |
 Iris Ensata Yatsugatake |
 Iris Ensata Hatsugasu |
 Iris ?? |
 Waterfall with Iris and Acers |
 Cardiocrinum gigantea |
 Kalmia Latifolia |
 Acer ?? |
 Acer ?? leaves |
 Liriodendron tulipfera fastgiatum |
 Millenium Seed Bank Project |
The work and methods used are explained on storyboards located outside the preservation laboratories. There are glass windows allowing you to view the work that is going on but during our visit nothing much was going on except for somdeone doing the inevitable paperwork and specimen logging. Not very exciting but one of those jobs that desrves high praise because it is so essential to a project like this. The displays are well worth looking at and compare and contrast the largest seed (Coco de mer,shaped like a bottom) and a field orchid. The many and varied shapes and colours are shown along with the cleaning and preservation methods used. Very interesting, and I wish I had had more time to cover this section of the Millenium Seed Bank Project more fully. |