Roots Around the World: exploring Kew’s historic role in global networks of plant exchange
The late eighteenth century was a period of rapid development for the royal gardens at Kew, as they grew from a pleasure garden to a global centre of botanical exchange and research. A constant stream of plant specimens flowed in and out of the Gardens, with collectors around the work sending plants, which were then distributed to a wide range of nurseries, gardeners, imperial colonies and other botanic gardens. It is a story of scientific collaboration; it is a story of diplomacy and conflict, empire and colonialism. It is a story told by the Kew Record Books, a series of records held here in our archives, which document the exchange of specimens in and out of Kew since 1793. This exhibition focuses on the first Record Book (1793-1809), zooming in on specific examples from the period to illustrate the different dynamics that directed plant exchanges.
DATES AND TIME
Tuesdays to Thursdays, 22 July – 10 October 2024
10am to 4pm
LOCATION
Library Reading Room, Herbarium Building, Kew Gardens
PRICES
Free admission, no booking required
Come to the reception in the Herbarium Building off Kew Green and you will be directed up to the reading room on the first floor.