Issue 21, Summer 2005 - Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

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Botanics the. Earth's own aliens. Discovering the mysterious lives of diatoms. Antipodean adventures. A plant hunting expedition down under. Opening the ...
Botanics the

ISSUE 21 | SUMMER 2005

Earth’s own aliens Discovering the mysterious lives of diatoms

Antipodean adventures A plant hunting expedition down under

Opening the Windows on the World A royal celebration for the refurbished Palm House

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Contents Foreword I

4 A hidden world Discovering diatoms

8 Antipodean adventure

Fieldwork in Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand

10 Windows on the World wide open The refurbished Temperate Palm House

12 Life in the labs RBGE’s molecular laboratory

13 Celebrating two Scottish greats Ian Hamilton Finlay and Tim Stead exhibitions at Inverleith House

14 Gifts to the Garden Welcome funding for bright ideas

15 Greenfingers Silver spears from down under

15 A warm welcome in Oz Members invited to Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens

16 New book celebrates native orchids Michael Foley and Sidney Clark’s definitive new book on the orchids of Britain and Ireland Cover: The diatom Anthodiscina floreatus, from the ‘Oamaru deposit’ – a fossil deposit in New Zealand which dates from the Upper Eocene Epoch, 35 million years ago. This diverse flora of planktonic and benthic diatoms was laid down in relatively shallow seas and was discovered, still beautifully preserved, in the early nineteenth century. Photo: David Mann.

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is a recognised charity and is supported by the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 20A Inverleith Row Edinburgh EH3 5LR tel 0131 552 7171 fax 0131 248 2901 web www.rbge.org.uk

n welcoming you to this issue of The Botanics, I am delighted to be able to report the most significant development since I joined the Garden over five years ago. Lewis Macdonald, the Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development, has recently announced a significant increase in the annual grant-in-aid funds provided by the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department. This increase in revenue funds of £1.7 million is an enormously welcome boost and represents a massive vote of confidence in the Garden and our plans for the future. The new resources are being provided in order to deliver the Minister’s priorities which include developing our internationally important plant collections and enhancing our ability to communicate and project our scientific work to our visitors and others. The work of the Garden, in science, conservation and education, makes a significant contribution to tackling the challenges of environmental changes. To have the resources to respond to these challenges is an exciting prospect. Recent developments such as the renovation of the Victorian Palm House and opening of Glasshouses: Windows on the World demonstrate our commitment to improving and interpreting the Gardens and their work for our visitors. The highly successful Real Life Science Café presented during this year’s Edinburgh International Science Festival shows how we are exploring the best ways of attracting and engaging with visitors. Feedback from participants revealed just how much they appreciated the opportunity of meeting and hearing from our botanical specialists in a relaxing and entertaining setting. Thanks to the Scottish Executive and other supporters, we have also benefited

Editor Ida Maspero ([email protected]) Contributing Editor Anna Levin ([email protected])

Above: As a Trustee of the Seychelles Islands Foundation, Stephen Blackmore recently revisited Aldabra. The atoll is famous for its giant land tortoises and other remarkable wildlife.

from having the resources to bring the fabric of our Gardens up to the standards expected of us. Visitors to Benmore Botanic Garden will find an improved café, shop and plant sales area as well as disabled access to the Courtyard Gallery. New plantings are important, too, and at Dawyck and Logan Botanic Gardens collections from recent expeditions are enriching the experience of a visit. As I look forward to the future with the renewed confidence that increased funding brings, let me close by emphasising how much I value the support of our visitors and especially those who become more involved as Friends, Companions or Patrons. Your contribution to the success of the Botanics is vital. Let’s see what we can achieve together – to protect plants and to develop our gardens for the benefit of our own and future generations.

Stephen Blackmore Regius Keeper

Enquiries regarding circulation of The Botanics should be addressed to Ellie Cooper ([email protected])

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News

Gaelic blossoms at the Botanics

Rhododendron work recognised

Theatre returns with tales of hope

Around 300 Gaelic-speaking children from around Scotland flocked to Edinburgh in April for the second annual Gaelic Schools Week, organised by Comunn na Gàidhlig (national Gaelic development agency), Comann nam Pàrant (national parents’ organisation) and the RBGE. Pupils from as far afield as Lewis, Uist and Tiree participated in a number of events and activities at the Botanics, led by RBGE botanist and fluent Gaelic speaker Mark Newman and Comunn na Gàidhlig drama tutor Artair Donald. This year’s expanded Gaelic Schools Week also saw events hosted by the National Museums of Scotland and Our Dynamic Earth. Mark Newman commented, “It’s most appropriate that young Gaelic speakers, whose language and culture are rare and valuable to Scotland, come to the Botanics where we study increasingly rare biodiversity at home and around the world.”

At the RHS awards in March this year, David Knott, Curator of Dawyck Botanic Garden, was awarded the A J Waley medal, presented each year to a working gardener who has advanced the cultivation of rhododendrons. The award recognised David’s work in developing Dawyck’s renowned rhododendron collection and expeditions to the Himalayas. “The key to any successful cultivation is seeing plants in their native habitat, and I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to do that,” says David. “At Dawyck, the Garden inherited a magnificent selection of rhododendrons, many of which were brought here by the plant hunter Ernest ‘Chinese’ Wilson in the early 1900s. Our work has been a process of tweaking this historically significant collection into one of scientific importance. This award acknowledges the hard work of the staff– it’s very much a team effort.”

The award-winning theatre company Theatrum Botanicum returns to the Botanics this summer with another innovative outdoor production: Children of the Sea – Tales of Hope from the Tsunami. The show continues renowned director Toby Gough’s long-standing relationship with the Garden, spanning 10 Festival collaborations, from Linnaeus in 1994 to GoGo in 2002. “Toby makes new and vibrant theatre, bringing stories from across the globe,” says RBGE’s Alan Bennell. “In Indonesia and Sri Lanka, he was inspired by the resilience of the fishing communities where so many lives have been devastated. He will bring these people to Edinburgh to tell their own stories. Toby’s shows always make sensitive use of the Garden’s remarkable setting.” Nightly performances will run from Saturday 6 August to Sunday 28 August. For more information, see our website at www.rbge.org.uk or tel 0131 552 7171.

Big boost from the Accolades for Scottish Executive RBGE scientists

A Wollemi pine, Wollemia nobilis, recently arrived from Australia, is given a health check by RBGE’s plant pathologist Stephan Helfer. The species was thought to be extinct, and known only from fossil records, until it was found in 1994 growing in Wollemi National Park. It has survived many millions of years and scientists hailed the discovery as akin to finding a dinosaur alive today.

The Scottish Executive showed its commitment to the Garden’s wide-ranging work in science, horticulture and education with the announcement that the annual financial support to RBGE will be enhanced by £1.7 million over the next three years. Announcing the pledge in April, Deputy Environment and Rural Development Minister Lewis Macdonald said “This funding will assist the Garden to both develop its living collection of scientifically important species, and promote the importance of plant science to a wider audience.”

The Garden’s standing as one of the country’s top scientific institutes has been reinforced by a number of professional awards and fellowships to its staff. In March, RBGE’s Director of Science, Mary Gibby, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. This follows an award of Honorary Professorship of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Biological Science at the end of last year. In May, RBGE’s Head of Genetics and Conservation, Peter Hollingsworth, was awarded the Linnean Society’s Bicentenary Medal for a botanist under 40.

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They fix more CO2 than the all world’s tropical rainforests, live encased in ornate glassy housing and are choosy about who they have sex with. Over 30 years of research has given David Mann unique insights into the fascinating lives of diatoms, as Anna Levin reports.

A hidden world “Why are we prepared to send spaceships to the moon and spend billions of pounds searching for life on Mars, but are not prepared to spend relatively reasonable amounts of money to find out what lives on this planet?” asks David Mann, Senior Principal Research Scientist at RBGE. “I’ve never understood that,” he continues. “We regret previous extinctions like the dodo and great moa, but so many things could die out now without trace and people don’t even know what’s there. I think mankind has a duty to record what exists.”

Top: Two mating cells of Sellaphora blackfordensis. The gamete from the cell on the left is moving across into the one on the right. Middle: Diatoms scraped from a stone in the river Afon Tywi at Llandeilo, South Wales. Bottom: Coscinodiscus cells grown in a culture, taken from North Berwick in East Lothian.

Convinced that you don’t need to leave planet Earth to discover mysterious, alien life forms, David has spent many years studying diatoms. He describes them as “amazing, bizarre, fascinating creatures”, yet many people don’t even know of their existence. Inspiring teachers set David on a path towards this research. “I was determined to be a botanist from an early age,” he says. “At school our biology teacher would take us out into the field and I loved fungal forays – I was one of those

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obnoxious children who could name obscure fungi from the age of 12! I was never really interested in flowers, but was hooked on odd, quirky kinds of plants.” “I went to university aiming for mycology, but one lecturer, Professor Frank Round, presented algae in a different way. While most of the teaching was straightforward textbook facts, Frank Round talked to us about his research, sharing the questions he was asking, involving us in the process. That got me hooked, I did my PhD with him, and have been studying algae ever since.” Diatoms are a class or division of algae, closely related to brown seaweeds but unique in their silica cell wall. The cells of most plant and animals are composed of organic compounds, but diatoms are enclosed in an elaborately-patterned structure made of silica. Because this silica skeleton doesn’t decay, diatoms are useful for monitoring present day and previous environments, and are important for studying changes in water quality and climate. “Our work facilitates wider conservation studies and ecological understanding,” explains David Mann. “The main users of our research are environmental scientists who monitor water quality and can determine what conditions were like thousands or even millions of years ago. The silica shell

remains in the lake mud or at the bottom of the sea, so you can date it and the diatoms can reveal what the conditions were like when they were living there.” But before anyone can use diatoms to undertake such research, it is essential to have an adequate taxonomy – to be able to identify and name the organisms involved. And this is the challenge for diatom researchers: what does species ‘mean’ to a diatom? How do you identify species and distinguish between them? “When asked what a species is at this level, I’d give the same answer as a mammalian zoologist would – namely that two lineages that are unable to mate with each other and exchange genes are different species,” says David. For more than 15 years, his research has focused on the nature of species in diatoms, and a fortuitous discovery enabled David’s team at RBGE to be the first to use mating criteria to work out what diatoms species were. “It all started in an accidental way,” he says. “Back in the 1980s, I was collecting samples around Edinburgh, getting acquainted with as many kinds of diatoms as possible. Studying them, I realised that I was seeing diatoms reproducing sexually: many diatoms are able to move and the cells were coming together and pairing. I noticed that they were actively selecting each other; they weren’t just coming together by chance, they were fussy about what they mated with. We were able to use this behaviour to differentiate between species. Parasites were another clue as they differentiate between different diatoms: particular parasites only affect particular diatom species.

He describes diatoms as “amazing, bizarre, fascinating creatures”, yet many people don’t know of their existence.

Above right: David Mann collecting mud samples to search for diatoms in RBGE’s pond. Below: A scanning electron micrograph of Sellaphora auldreekie, one of five species discovered in Blackford Pond in the early 1980s. Facing page: Anthodiscina floreatus, from a diatom deposit in New Zealand dating back 35 million years.

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Discovering diatoms Having evolved at around the same time as mammals and flowering plants, diatoms are relative newcomers to the planet. They are now the predominant group of algae and the second largest group of plants in the world (after the angiosperms). Diatoms play a major role in the world’s carbon cycles. They are found in aquatic habitats all over the world, in both fresh water and marine environments, and account for about 20 per cent of all carbon fixed each year – more than all the world’s tropical rainforests together. They are single-celled organisms and each cell is enclosed in an elaborate cell wall made of silica. The shape, pattern, size and structure of this cell wall is species-specific, but the basic plan is always the same, with two halves overlapping each other like a Petri dish. Diatoms are able to absorb dissolved silicate from the environment and transform it into these complex solid structures. Materials chemists are now studying this process to gain insights into how new ceramics and composite materials might be produced. Fossil diatoms are used as inert fillers in many products including toothpaste. Diatoms have an extraordinary life cycle, in which average cell size gets smaller as the cells multiply. This process continues for months or years, before being reversed by a phase of comparatively rapid expansion (taking only days), which is almost always associated with sexual reproduction. All diatoms are small. Even the largest, Esthmodiscus rex, which occurs in the Pacific Ocean, is only 2mm in diameter. The smallest diatoms are only a few micrometres long and can’t be identified with a light microscope.

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“I’ve spent a lot of time working out where that species boundary lies, and the relationship between what we see and what diatoms understand of each other. We use our eyes to detect morphological differences and we classify organisms on that basis. But diatoms can’t see each other, and so whether or not they look different to us is irrelevant to them. Instead, they must sense each other in a chemical way.” “What we found is that the kind of classification used in the past was far too coarse. For example, where we thought previously that there was just one species in Edinburgh’s Blackford pond, we’ve now realised that there are nine separate species. Globally, there are about 20,000 species described, but we estimate that’s only 10 per cent of those out there.” As diatoms exist everywhere, David has been able to undertake much of his research close to home, in sites such as Edinburgh’s Blackford Pond and Portobello beach. Some projects have taken him further afield, most notably to study

diatoms in the unique environment of Siberia’s Lake Baikal. “It’s a remarkable place,” he says, “at 30 million years old, it’s the oldest lake on Earth and is about 600 km long and well over a kilometre deep in much of its area. The landscape is fantastic with high mountains plunging to the clear water and boreal forest all around. The lake’s flora is remarkable, with unique sponges and fish, even a unique fresh water seal, and a different diatom flora from anywhere else in the world.” While most of RBGE’s plant hunters are able to collect specific samples in the field, diatom researchers must sample at random, targeting likely habitats, and won’t know what they’ve collected until they’re back at the lab. At Baikal, the team travelled around the perimeter of the huge lake, taking samples every 40km or so. Working around the edge of the lake maximised the chances of collecting diatoms, as they are mostly found in these shallow areas where light penetrates to the sediments.

Back at RBGE, the next task is ‘capturing’ diatoms from the box of mud. David explains the process: “Because the diatoms we study can move, they will move through the sediment to the surface looking for light. We place a layer of lens tissue on the surface, which acts as a filter: the mud can’t pass through but the algae ‘crawl’ through the lens tissue and are trapped against microscope cover slips. We can then put them on a slide and look at them under the microscope. From there we draw or photograph them. Drawings are useful for combining information from different focal planes. You interpret the information as you draw, reconstructing the 3D layout and showing different stages of development.” David is currently the only staff member at RBGE researching diatoms, but he works in close collaboration with colleagues at other institutions. At the University of Ghent in Belgium, a team is working on freshwater diatoms, and at Naples in Italy a team studies marine diatoms. Both groups are focusing on how species arise and the relationships among diatoms, and work

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closely with David at RBGE, sharing cultures and information and helping to interpret each other’s data. Accurate identification of diatoms is difficult even for experienced researchers, and so systems of computer-aided identification are being developed. One project involves the creation of a CD-ROM based guide to identify river diatoms, to enable the English Environment Agency and others to use diatoms to monitor water quality. Together with colleagues at RBGE and Cardiff University’s School of Computer Science, David is also working on a longterm project to develop an automated identification system. DIADIST (Diatom and Desmid Identification using Shape and Texture) will be able to deal with drawings as well as digital photographs and allow content-based searching of image archives. David is buoyant about the future of diatom studies, a future recently boosted by the announcement that the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) has awarded a fellowship to a population geneticist to join David. Katharine Evans

holds a PhD from the University of Melbourne and will work alongside David and his collaborators on the biogeography of diatoms, and the DNA bar-coding of diatom species. Throughout many years of diatom research, David has maintained his sense of wonder at this encounter with another life form. “Can we even imagine what it’s like to be a diatom?” he asks. “When we look at the sea or lake we know what water feels like, what it’s about. But to a diatom, water isn’t how we experience it: it’s a treacly liquid to them. When you see diatoms moving around it’s a very jerky movement because as soon as they stop the effort of moving, they stop dead: all momentum is almost instantly consumed by friction with their surroundings. “I get a buzz every time I see something new, the feeling that I’m looking at something that nobody else has looked at. Looking down a microscope, you are in another world, it’s a window into a world we can’t otherwise see, or even imagine – an alien world.” ■

“Can we even imagine what it’s like to be a diatom? We know what water feels like, but to a diatom, water isn’t how we experience it: it’s a treacly liquid to them.”

Below: Alan Stickle, a former research assistant in David Mann’s team, collecting diatom samples at Rannoch Moor. Insets, left and right: Arachnoidiscus, a diatom found around the Pacific Rim but not in the UK. A relatively large diatom, it can be seen with the naked eye and is about the size of the full stop at the end of this sentence. Centre: Petroneis, a diatom found on marine sandy beaches – this specimen came from Edinburgh’s Portobello beach.

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A meeting with a remarkable tree, an encounter with a venomous snake and a stay in a tin hut were all part of the package for three Scottish horticulturists on field work in Tasmania and New Zealand in March. Report by Ida Maspero. In spring 2005, three RBGE staff travelled to Tasmania and New Zealand to collect seeds which will enrich the National Botanic Gardens of Scotland collections. The Scottish trio comprised father and son Barry and Robert Unwin, Curator of Logan Botanic Garden and horticulturist at Edinburgh respectively, and Peter Baxter, Curator of Benmore Botanic Garden. They collected around 550 samples of individual plants (known as accessions), mostly in the form of seed and spores. The trio spent a fortnight in Tasmania, where they were accompanied

by botanists and horticulturists from the Royal Tasmanian Botanic Garden, Hobart. “They treated us like VIPs,” says Barry, “organising our permits in advance and taking us to interesting places in Tasmania’s amazing national parks. Not only did they know these areas like the back of their hands, they also had an amazing knowledge of native flora, which saved us much valuable time.” Robert expands: “We encountered diverse landscapes, from coastal rainforests and ancient stands of Nothofagus dripping with lichen, to the alpine scenery that is home to dwarf conifers and pincushion plants.” The highlight in Tasmania was definitely their encounter with one of the oldest living organisms on earth, a massive Huon pine Largarostrobos franklinii on Tasmania’s Mount Read. “Tasmania’s slowgrowing Huon pines used to be common, but have been heavily logged out” says

Barry. This huge male specimen is at least 10,000 years old, but estimated to be nearer 30,000 years. It was only discovered in the last 10 years.” Robert continues: “It looks like a jungle of many hundreds of trees, tumbling down the hillside and covering two to three acres. Access to it is restricted, so what a privilege to see it and stand among its branches.” For Robert, a first-time visitor to this part of the world, another highlight was the last day’s hike in Mount Field National Park. “You start walking through low-lying forests dominated by colossal eucalypts and tree-ferns, then through the rainforest up to the alpine zone… what a contrast in one day.” Robert also recalls with a chuckle an encounter with a venomous tiger snake.

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“I found it valuable to see species which we grow in Edinburgh, in their natural habitat on mountains.” “My dad nearly stepped on it,” he says, “but Peter, who is terrified of snakes, got the bigger fright. He’d been carrying a snake bite kit with him religiously for the whole trip, but did not have it with him then.” After two weeks in Tasmania, the three had collected around 280 seed lots, mostly of tree and shrub species – eucalypts, southern beech and some conifers, along with leptospermums, banksias and eucryphias, and the spores of several tree fern species. One disappointment was the shortage of Athrotaxis seed to be found. However, a good relationship forged with Hobart Botanic Garden will ensure that seed of this rare conifer will be supplied to RBGE when available. ” From Tasmania, the Unwins continued to the South Island of New Zealand for 17 days, where they collected another 250 lots of seed in the company of staff from Dunedin Botanic Garden and professional seed collector Steve Newell. “All of the collecting was done on private land – from the remnant forests of the Catlins to the alpine habitats of Mount Hutt,” explains Robert. “Much of what we collected was alpine – Raoulia species, the so-called ‘vegetable sheep’, as well as Hebe, Celmisia and Nothothlaspi species, to name but a few. We also collected olearias, leptospermums and clematis, as well as spores from a number of ferns. Their stay in New Zealand included a few nights in basic mountain huts – tin shacks offering the bare minimum of protection from the elements. “Every day, we bathed in cold mountain streams… very refreshing!” says Barry. “Another memorable moment, if you can call it that, was our hire car being hit from behind by a local driver while we were parked on the hard shoulder. Thankfully no-one was hurt in the incident.” Valuable links were also made at the Botanic Gardens in Christchurch and Dunedin. “The staff at Dunedin offered to clean all the seed collected in New Zealand and post it back to the UK, as we were not allowed to take them into Australia, our next port of call,” explains Barry. “From Sydney we hired a car to take us up into the Blue Mountains at Mount

Tomah, where we spent a few days botanising and visiting Mount Tomah Botanic Garden. We also visited Sydney Botanic Garden on the day we set off on the long flight home.” The main aim of the trip was to obtain plant material of known wild origin. Increasingly, the emphasis at the four National Botanic Gardens of Scotland is on growing such material, in line with the conservation and research remit of an internationally renowned botanic garden. In addition, wild material adds authenticity to themed landscapes – as the seeds are germinated, the little plants nurtured and eventually planted out, the new antipodean introductions will shape the landscapes at Benmore, Logan and Edinburgh. Logan Botanic Garden in Galloway has a long history of growing exotics from down under. In recent years Barry and his team have concentrated on recreating naturallooking landscapes with plant associations found in the wild. “We are extending the

Facing page left: Majestic Mount Cook, New Zealand, with Celmisia semicordata in the foreground. Inset: Rustic mountain accommodation in the shape of Mackintosh Hut in the Black Hills, New Zealand. Above: Robert and Barry Unwin cleaning seed in their ‘five star’ accommodation. Below: Peter Baxter examines the grass tree, Xanthorrhoea australis, on the dry east coast of Tasmania.

existing Australasian Woodland areas and working on our new Tasmanian Creek development, featuring tree ferns with a canopy of eucalypts. As from next year, the plants from this expedition will start going into the ground.” At Benmore, however, antipodean plants are still a rarity. A couple of years ago, work began on clearing an area with the view to creating a ‘Tasmanian Ridge’. “It doesn’t look like much at the moment,” explains Peter Baxter, “but in 2006 we will be doubling the size of this new development, and as the young southern beeches, eucalypts and tree ferns collected on this trip go in, it will gain a distinctly Tasmanian feel.” Alpine plants from this recent expedition will also find their way to the alpine collection at the Botanics in Edinburgh, where Robert used to be based. “I found it incredibly interesting and valuable to observe species which we grow in Edinburgh, in their natural habitat on mountains and scree slopes. In many cases it made clear to me why we have had little success with growing them – sometimes because we’re not treating them harshly enough!” ■ The expedition was made possible thanks to sponsorship from the RHS and the Sibbald Trust.

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Windows on the World wide open

Guests and staff gathered in March to witness the opening of the newly refurbished Temperate Palm House by HRH Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay.

The opening of the refurbished Temperate Palm House was a truly royal occasion, with HRH Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, expressing his fondness for the Garden’s most iconic building. “This elegant building has graced this site since its completion in 1858 and remains the tallest traditional Palm House in the realm,” he said. “Robert Matheson’s beautiful palace for plants is a treasure not just for the Garden – and indeed the city of Edinburgh – but for the whole nation.” “I commend the skills and dedication of those who have brought new life to this remarkable structure,” the Prince continued. “It has been brilliantly restored and accorded a new sense of purpose for the 21st century”. Prince Charles, who is Royal Patron of the Garden, was clearly enjoying his third official visit to the Botanics. He told the

gathered crowd of visitors and Garden staff how much he had also appreciated recent visits to the “exquisite” Regional Gardens at Logan, Dawyck and Benmore. While the Prince was shown around the refurbished building, the pleasant strains of fiddle music filled the Garden. Performing from the balcony of the Palm House, traditional musician Rab Purves played a piece he had composed for the occasion, entitled ‘The Palm House Suite’. Dr. Paul Nicholson, Chairman of RBGE’s Trustees, then explained how time had taken its toll on the building’s interior and the refurbishment was necessary to “enlighten the space itself and the purpose it fulfils”. He said that the project mirrors the ways in which the Garden is seeking to meet the challenges of the 21st century, with improved access and interpretation and the opportunity to

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engage visitors in the importance of plants and their conservation. The Palm House refurbishment was part of a wider project to improve access to the important plant collections nurtured under glass. State-of-the-art sound guides are now available to accompany visitors on a ‘world tour’ through the Glasshouses, from the palm groves of the tropics to the fern forests of Tasmania and New Zealand, from the lush and humid South American rainforest to the world’s sunbaked deserts. The ambitious refurbishment project was managed by RBGE’s Indoor Curator David Mitchell. “When this journey started in 2002, we realised the only feasible way forward was a holistic approach,” he says. “Working with a Grade-A listed building brought numerous considerations and so early contact was made with Historic Scotland, who recommended the architects Simpson & Brown. A close working relationship was soon

developed, which extended to the stone masons, Watson Stonecraft, and to other key suppliers. “We aimed to keep a diversity and complexity of the living material. New or temporary homes were found for the majority of plants, while large, important trees which could not be moved were kept – it was a challenge for the horticultural staff to maintain them in the midst of a building site!” “The end result speaks for itself,” David Mitchell concludes. “It has been restored as a truly beautiful and functional space, representing the four principal rules of botanical planting: scientific importance, strong educational worth, relevance to conservation and amenity value. It has been a groundbreaking undertaking for the Garden and celebrates a wonderful fusion between Scottish craftsmanship and horticultural expertise. Now it is for the public to enjoy the fruits of our labour and explore our windows on the world of plants.” ■

It has been a groundbreaking undertaking for the Garden and celebrates a wonderful fusion between Scottish craftsmanship and horticultural expertise.

The Glasshouses – Windows on the World is open daily from 10am to 6.30pm. Admission prices are £3.50 for adults, £3 for concessions, £1 for children and £8 for families. Admission is free to Members of the National Botanic Gardens of Scotland.

Facing page: HRH Prince Charles opens the restored Temperate Palm House, and is shown around by David Mitchell, who project managed the restoration. This page: above, the interior of the Palm House and below, the gleaming exterior.

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Life in the labs Left to right: Michelle Hollingsworth and Alexandra Clark making copies of DNA.

Anna Levin dons a white coat and goes behind the scenes of RBGE’s molecular lab with Michelle Hollingsworth and Alexandra Clark. In the high-tech, almost sci-fi, white world of the Garden’s molecular laboratory, lab manager Michelle Hollingsworth holds up two cans of Campbell’s soup and a ball of string with brightly-coloured labels attached. It’s a back to basics explanation of the lab’s work: the coloured labels represent the four building blocks which comprise DNA. The soup cans are different species – chicken and tomato – and the differences in their bar codes represent the DNA information that the lab generates. The lab is run by a team of two scientists. Alexandra Clark, Molecular Lab Technician, came to RBGE in 2000 from France where she had studied molecular and cellular engineering. She joined Molecular Lab Manager Michelle Hollingsworth, who came to RBGE in 1999, after studying botany up to PhD at Leicester and a post doc in Glasgow. Together they are responsible for running the molecular

laboratory, a task which Alex describes as a ‘balancing act’ between different demands such as processing DNA, generating data, supervising students and routine tasks like ordering stocks of plastics and chemicals and maintaining equipment. With 20-30 regular users, lab supervision can take up a large proportion of their time. “All students undertake a week’s training in DNA extraction and the use of machines,” explains Michelle, “but there is always ongoing trouble shooting, including advice on which techniques to use. It’s important that the DNA is of a good quality, we can work with fresh material, but the DNA starts degrading as soon as a plant is cut. It needs to be collected into silica gel in the field, which dries the leaf material and stops enzymes degrading it. This can cause problems at the airports on field trips as we look like drug traffickers, taking all these little bags of white powder!” The process of extracting the DNA involves taking a small sample of plant material, breaking up the cells to release

the DNA and rinsing other material away. A chemical is used which sticks to the DNA so that it can be seen in ultraviolet light. The tiny amount of DNA is then placed in a machine along with an enzyme, which makes millions of copies (taking around 3 hours), and another machine then reveals the exact composition of the unique DNA sequence. Both Michelle and Alex welcome the opportunity to undertake their own fieldwork and research when time allows. Alex’s work has taken her to New Caledonia to study Araucaria, monkey puzzle trees, some of which are threatened by mining activities. Seeing for herself how difficult it is to distinguish different species in the field gave her a renewed appreciation of the conservation context and importance of the molecular work back in the lab. Michelle’s own research project involves a study of Parasitaxus usta, the world’s only parasitic conifer, using genetic fingerprinting techniques to discover whether it reproduces clonally or sexually. “There are some questions that genetic data can answer that other methods can’t,” she says. “Molecular work is crucial to the Gardens’ work in taxonomy – how species differ and relate to each other, and population genetics – how much diversity there is within a species.” Working at the forefront of new technology, Alex and Michelle must keep up to date with new developments and ensure they can pass them on to the students. “The job has evolved a lot in the five years I’ve been here,” says Alex. “DNA sequencing used to be far more labour intensive and would take up most of my day. When I started we were processing 3000 samples a year, last year we were doing that in a month. Further expansion of the labs is planned. In a few years time we might even be using robots to do repetitive copying and DNA work.” ■

Working at the forefront of new technology, they must keep up to date with new developments.

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This summer, the Botanics hosts exhibitions by two of the most influential figures in 20th century Scottish art, as Ian Edwards reports. The artist and poet Ian Hamilton Findlay is probably best known as the creator of Little Sparta, the marvellously idiosyncratic garden on the edge of the Pentland Hills. As part of the celebrations to mark his eightieth birthday, he exhibits new work at Inverleith House Gallery in Sentences. Also this summer, With the Grain, celebrating the work and life of sculptor and furniture maker Tim Stead, takes place in the Exhibition Hall. This is the first major exhibition of his work to take place in Scotland since his untimely death in 2000. Works by both Stead and Hamilton Findlay have appeared in the Garden in the past. The story of the bronze sundial by Hamilton Findlay is probably as familiar to regular visitors as the sculpture itself. Originally created for the wall between the Terrace Café and Inverleith House, in the days when the latter was Scotland’s National Gallery of Modern Art, the piece was transferred to the new site at Belford Road and then eventually sent back on loan to the RBGE two years ago to grace the original site. Stead had two popular exhibitions in the Garden in 1992/3, one in Inverleith House and the other – Botanic Ash, featuring a range of sculpture from a single native ash tree from the Botanics – presented in the Caledonian Hall. Two Stead pieces are on permanent display – a bench near the view point overlooking the City and a grand throne, part of the Botanic Ash legacy, in the schools classroom. Hamilton Findlay’s contribution to this year’s Festival will consist of words with a horticultural theme, painted directly on to the walls of Inverleith House. With 40 years’ experience creating a garden from a bleak hillside, we can expect his reflections to strike a chord with gardeners and art lovers alike. There will also be an opportunity to visit Little Sparta itself on weekly bus tours leaving from the Garden. Elsewhere in the City, both the Ingleby Gallery and the Scottish Poetry Library will exhibit examples of Hamilton Findlay’s work. With the Grain – the Life and Work of Tim Stead is sponsored by both the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Natural Heritage, reflecting the two complementary sides of his life as both artist and conservationist.

Celebrating two Scottish greats He was passionate about the material he worked with and demonstrated how wood that would normally be wasted could be used to make beautiful objects. He also was active in the creation of Scotland’s first community woodland, at Wooplaw in the Scottish Borders. These achievements, along with the founding of the Woodschool and Borders Forest Trust, will be presented alongside examples of his iconic furniture, sculptures, poetry and photography. Both artists held a mutual respect for each other and Hamilton Findlay was asked to create the carved stone which marks Stead’s grave in Wooplaw woods. A photograph of this piece has been included in the new book on Stead’s life and work, edited by Giles Sutherland, that will be published to tie in with the exhibition. ■

Left: Ian Hamilton Finlay in his garden at Little Sparta. Photo: Tessa Treager. Inset: Tim Stead in 1978 with chairs designed for Glasgow’s café Gandolphi. Photo: Roger Lee.

With the Grain runs from 26 June to 4 September in the Exhibition Hall. The accompanying book is available from RBGE Publications at £20 (hardback) or £16.99 (paperback) plus postage and packing. Tel 0131 248 2991 or email: [email protected] Ian Hamilton Finlay – Sentences is on at Inverleith House Gallery from 29 July to 23 October. Bus tours to Little Sparta leave every Saturday and Wednesday from 30 July to 10 September (£12; £8 concessions). To book, contact the Gallery on tel 0131 248 2983 or email: [email protected]

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Gifts

to the Garden

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh welcomes grants and donations to help continue its commitment to plant conservation, educational programmes and scientific research in over 40 countries worldwide and to provide all visitors to its four Gardens with a unique experience. Here’s a round up of recent gifts. • The Botanics would like to thank the numerous supporters who have helped make the renovation of the Palm House and glasshouses possible, particularly the Scottish Executive’s Environment and Rural Affairs Department, The Robertson Trust, The Scottish Plant Hunters Garden and The Stevenson Charitable Trust. • Now in its fourth year, the Patrons’ Programme continues to grow and engage an influential audience about the Garden’s work. Thanks to Patrons’ generosity, over £76,000 has been raised to help RBGE’s fundamental activities. • To ensure the long-term survival of certain conifer species in Chile, the Bromley Trust has given significant support to the International Conifer Conservation Programme. Their donation will be used to engage local communities and land owners, and to offer training to the Chilean people to help conserve threatened species whilst working to address issues of poverty. • An exhibition celebrating the life and work of Tim Stead at the Botanics this summer has been granted £4,930 from the Scottish Arts Council (Crafts Department). See page 13. • RBGE’s Dr. Pete Hollingsworth and his team have received a contribution of £4,000 from RSPB towards on-going research work in conservation genetics. • The Royal Society of Edinburgh International Exchange Programme’s grant of £3,200 has allowed Dr. Ary Oliveira-Filho (University of Lavras, Brazil) to visit RBGE’s Dr. Toby Pennington in order to continue their work on the biodiversity and conservation of seasonally dry forests in Latin America. If you would like to help us secure the Garden’s future by becoming a member, leaving a legacy or making a donation please contact Becky Govier at the Development Office, on 0131 248 2866 or email: [email protected]

Welcome funding for bright ideas Stigma Style

Petal

Stamen

Ovary with ovules Sepal

A viewing platform at Logan Botanic Garden, the remounting of precious herbarium specimens from Nepal and a unique poster pack for Scottish classrooms are among the varied projects that have recently been given a leg up, thanks to the financial support of Members. Every year, money raised through Membership is channelled directly into many areas of the Garden’s work, via the Small Projects Fund. The projects and activities benefiting from the Fund are often those for which little or no other resources exist, so the disbursements are vital in making ideas become reality. One of this year’s recipients is RBGE’s Schools Education team. It will use this disbursement, along with £2,500 received from the Fund last year, to create a unique set of wall posters for Scottish classrooms (above). “We teach around 10,000 pupils a year; however, many schools are unable to come to the Garden,” explain Education Officers Susie Kelpie and Cath Evans. “We have also found that there is a lack of visual material to enhance the teaching of plant science in schools. These posters will take the Botanics into the classroom and provide a curriculum-based resource.” The Fund is also helping to make higher education more accessible, by continuing to fund bursaries for courses run at RBGE – the MSc in Plant Taxonomy and the HND in Horticulture. The Garden’s learning environments will be upgraded too, with allocation of £1,800 for purchase of special camera equipment to be used in adult education courses, such as botanical illustration and botany. “By capturing and projecting small detail onto a large screen, the new equipment will make close work, such as a painting demonstration or a dissection technique, more visible for students,” explains Adult Education Officer Suzanne Harris. In addition, the equipment will be used in laboratory sessions for the MSc and HND courses mentioned above. Here is the complete list of disbursements announced in April:

Above: Detail from ‘Focus on Plants’, a science learning resource for schools.

£5,000 to fund a place on the Garden’s MSc course in the biodiversity and taxonomy of plants. £3,000 to remount and database the Dobremez Herbarium – 12,000 specimens collected in Nepal and recently donated to RBGE. £3,000 for the creation of two scholarships for the HND course in Horticulture, and towards a study tour for HND students. £2,500 to support a study of lower plants associated with juniper, Juniperus communis, by RBGE lichenologist Dr. Chris Ellis. £2,250 to construct an elevated viewing platform at the Tasmanian Glade at Logan. £2,000 to help implement PlantNetwork’s ‘Target 8’ conservation initiative at RBGE. £1,800 to purchase camera equipment that will enhance the teaching of a wide range of education courses. £1,550 to undertake a pilot door-to-door mailing promoting Membership. £1,500 to illuminate parts of Benmore Botanic Garden as part of the Cowal Walking Festival in October. £1,500 to purchase new display cases for the Exhibition Hall. £1,284 towards new display cases for the Wet Tropics glasshouse. £1,050 to support RBGE staff member Emily Wood in her study of an MSc in Education for Sustainability. £1,000 to produce ‘pop up’ displays promoting Membership, for use by Benmore, Logan and Dawyck Botanic Gardens. £1,000 to help produce ‘Focus on Plants’, a plant science learning resource for primary and secondary schools. £950

towards the second Chilean Horticultural Scholarship, which will allow Chilean forestry student Daniela Weber to train at the National Botanic Gardens of Scotland.

£800

to purchase a Commemorative book for public display.

£500

to provide suitable work clothing for horticulture students on internships and work placements.

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Greenfingers Peter Brownless explains how to grow silver spears from down under Architectural plants make a strong statement in the garden with exoticlooking, bold shapes. Many are huge, most are evergreen, a few look appealingly peculiar, and some have spiky leaves or

a jungle-like tropical appearance. These plants lend structure and focal points, but few gardens can accommodate a potentially large conifer or shrub. Perhaps the answer lies with a bamboo, tree fern, cabbage palm or New Zealand flax. An alternative rapidly gaining popularity is the genus Astelia, now classified in a family of its own: Asteliaceae (previously included in Liliaceae). Numbering about 15 species, these attractive, evergreen, clump-forming perennials are natives of the Pacific Islands, New Zealand and Australia. They grow in a diverse range of habitats, from mountain swamps to open woodland. A few are reliably hardy in our gardens, surviving temperatures as low as -12°C. One of the hardiest species is Astelia nervosa, with tufts of half meter long, swordshaped, silvery, sage-green leaves and tiny but fragrant flowers in late summer. Astelia nervosa ‘Westland’ has silver grey leaves often tinged with maroon in winter, and a stubby, green flower spike buried deep in the rosette of leaves. Astelia chathamica (often known as ‘Silver Spear’) has intensely silver leaves, growing to a dramatic one meter in height. It provides wonderful colour and texture contrast in the border: cooling hot colour schemes and adding fireworks to pastels.

A warm welcome in Oz Think Sydney, and you immediately think of its world-famous icons, the Opera House and Harbour. However, it is also home to a 30-hectare haven: the Royal Botanic Gardens. When the hustle and bustle of Australia’s most vibrant seaside city gets too much, locals and visitors alike retreat to this oasis set in a spectacular position at the edge of Sydney Harbour. Here, an outstanding collection of plants from Australia and overseas is nurtured and displayed in themed landscapes. The surrounding parkland of the Domain, also managed by the Botanic Gardens Trust, is a place for sport, entertainment and recreation. Just like the RBGE there is an unseen side to Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens. It is a scientific institute with a highly respected team of botanists, ecologists and horticulturists. Their research provides the scientific knowledge for setting

conservation policies to preserve the world’s biodiversity. Founded in 1816, the Royal Botanic Gardens is in fact Australia’s oldest scientific institution. A reciprocal agreement has been forged with the Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, which gives Members of National Botanic Gardens of Scotland free entry to the Tropical Centre within the Royal Botanic Gardens, and to Mount Annan Botanic Garden and Mount Tomah Botanic Garden. “Mount Tomah Botanic Garden is a coolclimate garden in the Blue Mountains two hours’ drive west of Sydney. Mount Annan Botanic Garden is a 416-hectare native plant garden on the southern outskirts of Sydney,” explains Annie Sutherland, Executive Officer of the Friends of The Gardens. “Members from the National Botanic Gardens of Scotland are most welcome to call in,” concludes Annie. “We’d love to meet you!” ■

Both Astelia nervosa and A. chathamacia make ideal container plants, especially if the container is dark in colour. Ensure they have enough room to retain moisture, and associate them with Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’ and dark red zonal Pelargoniums for summer, exchanging the latter for a pink Helleborus orientalis cultivar for winter. They will grow in neutral to acid soils in either sun or light shade. Astelias can tolerate a moist position in the milder west of Scotland but are better in drier soils in the east. Always plant high and take care mulching as they are susceptible to crown rot if buried too deeply. A spring feed will kick start a succession of new leaves. They can be easily propagated in spring by division, though it is advisable to pot up the offsets and grow them on for a year before planting them out in their final position. If you develop a taste for these silvery spears look out for Astelia banksii, fragrans, grandis and solandri in Logan’s extensive collection of plants from down under. In Edinburgh, they can be found in the Rock Garden’s New Zealand bed and will form part of the Southern Hemisphere planting of the forthcoming Queen Mother’s Memorial Garden. ■

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National Botanic Gardens of Scotland comprise:

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Open daily (except 25 December and 1 January) Inverleith Row, Edinburgh, EH3 5LR Tel: 0131 552 7171 • Email: [email protected]

Benmore Botanic Garden Open daily, 1 March to 31 October Dunoon, Argyll, PA23 8QU Tel: 01369 706261 • Email: [email protected]

Logan Botanic Garden Open daily, 1 March to 31 October Port Logan, Wigtownshire, DG9 9ND Tel: 01776 860231 • Email: [email protected]

Dawyck Botanic Garden Open daily, 1 February to 30 November Stobo, Peeblesshire, EH45 9JU Tel: 01721 760254 • Email: [email protected]

For further information about events at the Garden, Education Courses and Membership, see our website

www.rbge.org.uk For an events programme, contact Ellie Cooper on 0131 248 2991, email: [email protected]

New book celebrates native orchids Summer is here, and so is the flowering season for Britain’s array of native orchids. Just in time for the start of the season comes the definitive new book Orchids of the British Isles by Michael Foley and Sidney Clark. Published by Griffin Press in association with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE), the book is the product of a comprehensive ten-year survey based at the Garden. In the course of eight flowering seasons, RBGE’s former Principal Photographer Sidney Clarke travelled over 100,000 miles to photograph every species and variant of British and Irish orchid. The final result is a unique combination of Clarke’s stunning photographs and scholarly text by Michael Foley, Research Associate at the University of Lancaster. Comprehensive descriptions of over 60 species and variants are provided, as well as current information about their biology, ecology and threats to their survival. A distribution map for each species accompanies its description. The book

draws on RBGE’s taxonomic expertise and the latest genetic studies, ensuring this is a most authoritative work. Contributions from guest authors complete the picture: John Grimshaw enlightens orchid biology, RBGE taxonomist Crinan Alexander provides a key, Ian Taylor talks about conservation and Barry Tattersall covers the cultivation of native orchids in the garden. In addition, Sidney Clarke discloses the secrets of his art in a chapter on plant photography. Orchids of the British Isles is a lavish full-colour hardback book of 320 pages and over 300 photographs. Available from mid-June, it retails at £45. ■ An introductory offer of £35 plus £5 postage and packing is available via RBGE’s Publications Department until 31 August. Tel 0131 248 2991, email: [email protected] Wholesale enquiries to Griffin Press Publishing, tel 01242 870567, email: info@griffinpress.co.uk