Issue 42, Autumn 2010

ISSUE 42 | AUTUMN 2010

Official Gateway openingHer Majesty The Queen opens the John Hope Gateway

A world of begoniasRBGE’s global Begonia research

An enlightened VictorianJames Duncan’s Benmore legacy

2 | T H E B O T A N I C S A U T U M N 2 0 1 0

This August saw the first ever award of

the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh medal

which has been introduced to recognise an

individual who has made an outstanding

contribution in a field of endeavour related

to the work of the Garden. There is no

requirement that the medal be awarded

every year or that the recipient should

necessarily have served on the staff of

the Garden. The only criterion is the

distinction achieved by the recipient.

The idea was conceived some years ago

and recently the medal, which has a bust

of Robert Sibbald on one face and the

Sibbaldia plant on the other, was struck

in silver. Sibbald was one of the Garden’s

founders and the small snow-bed herb that

commemorates him, and that we use as

our logo, was named by the great Swedish

botanist Linnaeus. Many of the great

names in botany and horticulture have

been associated with RBGE in its long and

distinguished history. We chose to award

the medal for the first time this year to

honour a truly outstanding horticulturist on

the occasion of his one hundredth birthday.

Dr Edward Edmund Kemp first came to

RBGE in 1932 as a student gardener

and soon after joined the Propagation

Department. After serving in the Royal

Artillery and Intelligence Corps during the

Second World War, Eddie was appointed

Curator of RBGE in 1950 and over the

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is a Charity registered in Scotland (number SC007983) and is supported by the Scottish Government Rural and Environmental Research and Analysis Directorate.

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LRTel: 0131 552 7171Fax: 0131 248 2901Web: www.rbge.org.uk

Enquiries regarding circulation of the Botanics should be addressed to Hamish Adamson.

Opinions expressed within the Botanics are those of the contributors and do

not necessarily reflect the views of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

ForewordIn this issue�...4 �Brilliant BegoniaA look at the genus at the centre of much research at RBGE

7 �Beyond the Golden GatesExploring the legacy of James Duncan, Laird of Benmore 1870-1889

8 �Her Majesty The Queen opens the GatewayA Royal opening for RBGE’s iconic building

10 �Changes in the GlasshousesThe Indoor team report on the latest developments

11 �Ask the expertsStaff share their expertise

11 �GreenfingersA look at Heron Wood at Dawyck

12 �Autumn exhibitions and eventsAutumn events

Discover a hidden kingdom

13 Of nature and poetry

14 �MembershipFriends’ Annual Plant Sale breaks all records

An interview with one of RBGE’s Patrons

Members' autumn highlights

Celebrate life with the Hope Tree

16 �Kids’ ZoneWhat a lot of rotters!

18 �Postcard from IndonesiaRBGE staff report back from work in the field

19 �Hands-on learningDevelopments in RBGE’s Certificate in Practical Horticulture

In4BAt

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2

Cover: Acer pseudoplatanus by Lynsey Wilson.

Editor

Hamish Adamson Email: [email protected]

Production Editor Alice Jacobs

Email: [email protected]

Designer Caroline Muir

Email: [email protected]

All information correct at time of going to press.

Printed by Potts, Northumberland, using vegetable-based inks and eco-friendly varnish under the control of an ISO:90001: 2000 Management System and FSC Chain of Custody Certification.

next 21 years took that post, which is

now called Director of Horticulture, to new

levels of distinction. His legacy is very

much with us today in the form of many

trees planted under his Curatorship, the

front range of public glasshouses completed

in the 1960s and Dundee Botanic Garden.

Eddie was a passionate and outstanding

lecturer, so perhaps his greatest legacy

is the people he inspired, many of whom

went on to achieve distinction in their

own careers. Les Bissett, Bill Cairns,

Brian Clouston and Jim McKay, who were

all taught by Eddie, were present for

the award. They were joined by Deputy

Lord Provost Rob Munn, who made a

presentation on behalf of the City of

Edinburgh, Councillor Steve Cardownie,

who had spoken at Eddie's 80th birthday

celebration, Eddie’s son, Professor

Alan Kemp, and colleagues from the

Garden. It was a pleasure to meet Eddie,

to see that his enthusiasm for plants is

undiminished and to hear some remarkable

stories from his long career. He spoke

with affection of Joseph Rock and Ludwig

Diels, whom he met in the late 1930s

when working at Berlin Botanic Garden

where Diels was the director. He recalled

how Joseph Rock, one of the great names

of Chinese botany and ethnography,

gave him young plants of the rare maple

Acer pentaphyllum to take to Edinburgh

when he returned home before the

outbreak of the war. This tree, which

seems always to have been very rare,

has been rediscovered and conserved

through the efforts of Quarryhill Botanic

Garden in California and their Chinese

counterparts. His inspiring life makes

one appreciate and value the privilege it

is to work at, and be a part of the life of,

one of the world’s great botanic gardens.

Stephen Blackmore FRSE, Regius Keeper

Contents

Above: Professor Blackmore presents the

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh medal to Dr Kemp.

T H E B O T A N I C S A U T U M N 2 0 1 0 | 3

Award-winning art on display at GatewayThroughout July a remarkable series

of watercolours of Chilean plants

were on display at the John Hope

Gateway at the Edinburgh Garden.

The paintings, by Turkish artists

Gülnur Ekşi, Işik Güner and Hülya

Korkmaz, are part of a wider project

to illustrate 70 Chilean plant species

for publication in a book planned for

2013 and were awarded Silver and

Gold Medals at the RHS Botanical

Art Show 2010.

It is possible to sponsor the

production of the paintings or any

other aspects of the project.

For more information contact the Project Co-ordinator, Martin Gardner, at [email protected] or on 0131 248 2963. For more information about the project visit: www.rbge.org.uk/science/genetics-and-conservation/international-conifer-conservation-programme/chile/the-book

Top marks at LoganThe Education and Ranger teams were

pleased to expand their outreach,

following in the footsteps of the well-

established Schools Week at Benmore,

to include a programme at Logan.

The Garden welcomed more than

300 youngsters for a week in

May. Logan Curator Richard Baines

commented: “It was the first time an

Education Week has been held at the

Garden and it was a huge success.

As 2010 is the International Year of

Biodiversity it is extremely important

to get young people thinking about

nature and the role they have to play

in conserving our environment.”

In this first year the topic for the

older children was ‘plant survival’,

introducing techniques such as building

shelters and lighting fires, while the

younger children enjoyed a ‘journey

though the senses’, taking them round

the Garden in search of colours, smells,

sounds and textures. The week was

run as a free pilot to gauge interest

for future development.

RBGE’s Director of Science, Professor

Mary Gibby, received her OBE from

the Queen at Holyrood in July.

Professor Gibby, President of the

British Pteridological Society,

is considered to be one of the leading

British cryptogamic botanists of

her generation and has championed

research and conservation of non-

flowering plants (ferns, mosses and

liverworts, lichens and fungi) during a

career spanning over 30 years.

Since her appointment in 2000

at RBGE, Professor Gibby has

worked tirelessly to develop new

partnerships, notably with the University

of Edinburgh and Scottish Natural

Heritage, and, as a result, critically

threatened native Scottish plants are

now being actively conserved and

restored to the wild. Passionate about

engaging with younger people and


News

the challenges facing biodiversity,

she helped establish the annual Scottish

Biodiversity Conference, now an

annual event at RBGE.

Medal awarded to former CuratorDr Edward Kemp, a former

Curator at the Royal Botanic

Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) and

Scotland’s senior horticulturist,

was presented with a new medal

in recognition of his contribution

to the work of the Botanics,

just days after celebrating his

100th birthday. Dr Kemp said:

"It has been such a privilege to

be associated with the Garden.

Horticulture has been my whole

life and I have been fortunate to

work with many famous people."

New role for RBGE Tropical BotanistJames Richardson, Head of Tropical

Biogeography and Evolution at RBGE,

has been given the position of Adjunct

Professor at the University of the

Andes in Bogotá, Colombia where he

will be based in the Systematic Botany

Laboratory. The role will enable him

to continue to develop projects on the

historical biogeography of RBGE focus

groups in Colombia. He is also hoping

to initiate inventory studies in the

Pacific Coast Department of Chocó to

help fill a major gap in our knowledge

of the biogeography of Northwestern

South America.

Professor Mary Gibby OBE


In flowerbeds, window boxes and

hanging baskets around the country,

hybrid begonias provide a riot of

summer colour. And in greenhouses

and on windowsills, yet more varieties

are grown for the interesting shape or

colour of their leaves.

The success and popularity of begonias

as cultivated plants are largely due to the

fact that members of this plant family

hybridise readily – different species in the

genus have been crossed to produce the

profusion of attractive cultivars suited to

a range of growing conditions. They are

also easy to propagate vegetatively.

But look closely, and they are

far from ordinary. Their succulent

appearance and asymmetric leaves set

them apart from the other occupants of

flowerbeds and containers. Behind the

familiar cultivated plants is a genus of

great scientific interest.

The very reason for their popularity

in our homes and gardens – the fact

that different species within the genus

Begonia hybridise readily, allowing for

the creation of the myriad hybrids and

cultivars – also makes it an interesting

candidate for genetic studies.

Showcase of evolutionThough they are often grown outdoors

as annuals here in temperate climes,

most wild Begonia species are tropical,

perennial herbs. They are found in

tropical regions around the world –

in Africa, where it is thought they

originated, as well as in Asia and Latin

America. There are an estimated

1,600 species and counting; new ones

are continually being documented,

especially in Asia.

“Begonia is a good model genus

for studying so many things,” says

RBGE Tropical Botanist Mark Hughes.

“There are so many species, and the

genus is widespread throughout the

tropics, so one could use it to examine

biogeography, character evolution,

speciation, population genetics … and

to try and answer many evolutionary

questions. In fact, Begonia is a showcase

of evolution throughout the tropics.”

At the Royal Botanic Garden

Edinburgh, an active and varied research

The showy, often oversized blooms of begonias have made them

hugely popular, to such an extent that they are often seen by more

discerning gardeners as something of a cliché. Yet behind the cliché

is a fascinating, often puzzling plant family with genetic secrets

RBGE scientists are working to reveal, as Ida Maspero reports.

Main: Begonia padangensis, endemic to the

Padang region in West Sumatra.



programme has been investigating

Begonia using both traditional and

modern methods. “Begonia work at the

Garden brings together all the different

strands of botany,” explains Mark, “from

traditional observation using herbarium

sheets, microscopes and field notes, plus

the archives and herbarium collections,

to DNA sequencing and state-of-

the-art genomics. It combines the

two ends of the spectrum: traditional

observation-based botany and cutting-

edge science. And it draws on the living

collections in the research Glasshouses,

the dried collections in the Herbarium

and the technology in the laboratory.”

The availability of funding is often a

stimulus for research, and at RBGE, the

M. L. MacIntyre Trust provides grants

for Begonia research. “It is a happy

coincidence for the Garden that the

Trust funds work on this fascinating

plant group, because it makes a good

model genus for looking at tropical

evolution, an area of study in which the

Garden is very active,” continues Mark.

What interests botanists like

Mark is the rapid rate at which

new Begonia species have evolved

relatively recently, in South-East Asia

in particular. “Here we see a massive

burst of recent speciation,” he says.

This has led to a dazzling number of

related but distinct Begonia species,

many of them as yet unknown to

science. “We have probably described

about 20-odd new ones in the last few

years alone. There are still plenty to

be discovered. On islands like Sulawesi

and Sumatra the bulk of the species is

still to be named.”

This is partly due to the fact that the

plant life of these Indonesian islands

is, in general, poorly documented, but

it is also due to the peculiar biology of

Begonia. “The genus generates narrow

endemics very easily,” explains Mark,

“meaning that a species may be found

only in very small areas, perhaps on just

one limestone cliff.” The reasons for

these patterns of rapid speciation and

narrow endemism in Begonia are the

subject of much ongoing research.

The first part of the answer lies in

the geology of these places, where

features like islands, mountains, cliffs

and gorges separate clusters of plants,

isolating them genetically. But exactly

why this leads to entirely new species

arising relatively rapidly might be

down to the peculiar molecular biology

of Begonia. As Mark points out:

“It asks the question: how do species

come about and what constitutes a

new species?”

Top: Boiling hot springs combine with a cold

mountain stream near Ketambe in Aceh and

provide a steamy and humid environment ideal

for many understory plants.

Right: Mark Hughes collecting the recently

discovered Begonia laruei in Aceh, Sumatra.

Retracing the steps of a Scot in SumatraMark Hughes is currently on expedition

in South Sumatra, where he is retracing

the steps of Aberdeen-born botanist

William Jack in a bid to find and identify

Begonia species known only from

Jack’s notes.

Jack collected plants on the Indonesian

island with the legendary Sir Stamford

Raffles in the 1820s, but most of his

specimens were lost in a fire aboard

the ship Fame as it was about to return

to Europe. His manuscripts, however,

survived. “Most of the species of

Begonia Jack collected had never been

collected before,” explains Mark.

“He had written down detailed plant

descriptions, so we have his names

and fairly good descriptions, but no

specimens to match them to. We really

need to collect living examples to know

what species he was talking about.”

So Mark is following Jack’s precise

route through southern Sumatra and

climbing the same mountains in the

hope of finding the spots where he

collected begonias and doing the same.

By matching the plants on the ground

with Jack’s descriptions, he hopes to

reveal the identity of these ten or so

long-lost species.

There is a catch, though. One of the

mountains on which Jack collected,

Gunong Bunko, or ‘sugarloaf mountain’,

was said to be haunted, and indeed

within a year of the expedition every

participant was dead. This is one of

the mountains Mark is climbing in

search of Jack’s begonias. Let’s hope

he is not superstitious!



Puzzling leavesAn assortment of potted begonias adorn

the windowsill of Catherine Kidner, RBGE

Lecturer in Plant Evolution. There’s an

upright, pink-flowered one of the sort

sold by florists and given to her by a

friend, and a couple of trailing plants,

their reddish foliage tumbling over the

edge. She picks up a small pot with an

unusual frilly leaf. On closer inspection,

this effect is created by little outgrowths

on the bottom of the leaf that, bizarrely,

look like the upper surface.

Catherine is not a Begonia enthusiast

but a molecular scientist, and the little

plant on her windowsill is a perfect

example of what she is investigating

– the weird and wonderful variety of

leaf forms found in Begonia. Unlike all

other plant groups, they routinely have

asymmetric leaves. The reasons for this

are thought to relate to the plants being

able to form an efficient leaf mosaic in the

damp, shady places they typically inhabit.

But their asymmetry is not the most

fascinating aspect of Begonia leaves;

rather, it is the mind-boggling range of

shapes – from nearly round and smooth-

edged to jagged, serrated and split – and

the apparent randomness with which

leaf shapes arise. It is not uncommon for

two very closely related species to have

completely different leaf shapes.

Catherine is investigating this

phenomenon on a genetic level by

pinpointing the genes responsible for

leaf shape in Begonia. Her subjects are

species from the section Gireoudia

from Central America, which display

an array of bizarre leaf forms.

“We are looking at the two particular

genes known to be involved in the

leaf form of plants – isolating them

in various species to see what the

differences are,” explains Catherine.

“Surprisingly, we have found no links

between these two key genes and

differences in leaf form between Begonia

species. The picture for leaf form at

genetic level seems to be different for

Begonia than we see in other plants.

There are other genes at work here.”

To find out what they are, Catherine’s

laboratory, comprising a rotating crew

of MSc and PhD students as well as

Left: Begonia glabra, a widespread epiphytic Begonia

in Central America which grows on trees and rocks.

Below: Scanning electron micrograph of the stigma

of Begonia heracleifolia. The structure is densely

papillose, allowing pollen from other begonias to

attach and germinate, before pollinating the ovules.

Photo: Alex Twyford and Frieda Christie.

post-doctoral researchers, is compiling

a genetic map for Begonia. This will

be the first proper genetic map for a

rainforest herb, so, besides hopefully

helping to solve the riddle of which

genes govern leaf shape Begonia, the

work of this lab is developing processes

and tools with which the genetics of

other tropical plants may be examined.

According to Catherine, the lab

still has a way to go before it has any

definitive answers – at a genetic level –

to the riddle of Begonia's weird leaf

shapes. But she suspects that Begonia

has an unstable genome, which would

also be a factor in the rapid formation

of new species. “There seems to

be a lot going on at chromosomal

level, especially in Gireoudia, and

we see all kinds of mutations.” This

dynamic genome, reckons Catherine,

would drive speciation much quicker,

especially in combination with other

known factors, such as the physical

isolation of groups of plants.

The work of the lab promises to shed

light on the genetic secrets of Begonia,

but the tools, like the genetic map,

being developed in the course of this

investigation may be applied to other

genera. “It opens the door to taking a

molecular genetic approach to looking

at plant diversity,” says Catherine.


At the Glen Massan entrance to the

Benmore Estate and Benmore House are

the Golden Gates, a fine pair of wrought-

iron gates painted in gold, made in Berlin

with the initials ‘JD’, exhibited at the Paris

Universal Exhibition of 1878 and brought

back to Benmore to impress JD’s visitors.

JD was James Duncan (1834–1905),

Laird of Benmore, a fine example of the

late Victorian nouveau riche. As a sugar

refiner in Greenock, Duncan devised and

introduced major technical innovations,

extracting from the raw sugar mass a

much larger proportion of the better

grades of sugar.

From 1869 he pioneered sugar beet

production in Britain, visiting France,

Belgium and Germany (and developing

links with the art world of Western

Europe) before opening factories in

Suffolk and London. Duncan travelled

the country discussing soil depth and

acidity, summer sunshine and the use of

residues as cattle feed. The result was

an understanding of plants and planting

way beyond that of most estate owners

of the period.

Duncan was an energetic and

innovative estate developer. He built

his own experimental refinery for his

development work. He used steam

ploughs and drained the land. Peat from

the hill was dried and sold in Glasgow.

Prize cattle and sheep were bred and a

salmon farm set up. He dabbled in silver

and lead mining. He was a good employer

and a philanthropist – the famous

preacher C. H. Spurgeon preached to

2,000 seated on the grass at Benmore!

Over ten years 6.5 million trees

were planted, mainly larch, ‘Scotch fir’

and spruce. Huge greenhouses were

built, one 100 metres long. A wide

variety of plants was grown, including

the “finest collection of camellias in

Scotland”. Duncan built a huge gallery

for his private painting and sculpture

collection, which he intended to leave

to the nation. Remarkably the collection

housed works by Delacroix, Courbet and

Renoir, among others. To quote Andrew

Watson, author of James Duncan:

An Enlightened Victorian,

“Duncan as a

collector was a free spirit, neither

blindly following fashion nor buying

for investment”.

Unfortunately, in the 1880s Duncan

was humbled by the combination of a

national financial crisis and the effects

of the French and German governments’

heavy subsidies of their beet sugar

industries. The art collection had to

be sold and in 1889 Benmore was

purchased by H. J. Younger, of Grange

Loan, Edinburgh, for £110,237.

What evidence can we see today of

the intervention of Benmore’s ‘sugar

baron’ Laird? Some of the finest trees at

Benmore were planted by Duncan, have

thrived and even survived the great gale

of 1968. The Fernery was reopened

in September 2009, with the plants

arranged scientifically and by habitat on

three levels. The clock in the Courtyard

reminds us that this was Duncan’s home,

as do his initials on Benmore House,

whilst the Golden Gates (in the process

of conservation) remind us of this

remarkable man’s accomplishments.

Please note the Golden Gates are

currently undergoing restoration

and are not on display.

The book can be bought via the Botanics shop or at www.rbge.org.uk/buyonline

or see reader offer on back page.

Following the recent publication of RBGE’s biography of James Duncan, Laird of the Benmore Estate 1870–1889, Walter Stephen introduces the man, his achievements and his lasting influence on the Benmore landscape.

either

b i

of9,

Top: Archibald Macfarlane Shannan, oval bronze bas

relief of Duncan taken from the granite obelisk

memorial to him at Holy Loch, Kilmun,

Argyllshire. Photo: Peter Clarke.

Main: Benmore House

with Duncan’s Picture

Gallery to the right,

c.1889–1890.

Image courtesy

of David

Younger.


Tony Miller (RBGE Director of the Centre for Middle Eastern Plants), recently returned from fieldwork in Iraq, discusses the Gateway display on Plant Collecting with Her Majesty. The Duke of Edinburgh and Professor Blackmore look on.

Dr Heather McHaffie (RBGE) explains the form of Fern Gametophytes to Her Majesty during the Family Fern Workshop in the Gateway’s Real Life Science Studio.

Arriving at the West Gate the Lord Provost, George Grubb, presents Professor Stephen Blackmore (RBGE Regius Keeper) and Dr Ian Sword (Deputy Chairman of RBGE Trustees). Fergus Ewing MSP, Minister for Community Safety (centre) was also present.

On the afternoon of Monday 12 July, Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, visited the

Garden. In addition to formally opening the John Hope Gateway, the Royal party toured the adjacent, newly planted and interpreted

Biodiversity Garden and then proceeded to look around the Queen Mother’s Memorial Garden, last visited by Her Majesty at its

opening in July 2006. At each location several members of RBGE staff and volunteers were presented to our Royal visitors.


After unveiling the commemorative glass panel, Her Majesty also rang the historic Garden Bell, cast in 1607, and originally commissioned for Holyrood.

Dr McHaffie (third from right) demonstrates the extensive facilities on offer and Her Majesty viewed microscope images of spores projected onto display screens. Accompanied by Professor Blackmore, she took time to watch as family groups compared models with real specimens at the Fern Workshop and undertook experiments, using the interactive learning facilities in the Real Life Science Studio.

Her Majesty plants a commemorative tree, under the watchful eye of RBGE Garden Supervisor Peter Brownless, who collected this Sorbus commixta (Japanese rowan) in the wild in 2005.

John Hope Gateway Architect Roddy Langmuir (of Edward Cullinan Architects, London) enthuses to Her Majesty about the innovative features of the building.

David Mitchell (RBGE Curator), co-designer of the Biodiversity Garden, is presented to Her Majesty, as (left to right) David Knott (Deputy Director of Horticulture), Dr Sword and Professor Blackmore look on.

Accompanied by Simon Crutchley (RBGE Garden Supervisor), Her Majesty tours the Queen Mother’s Memorial Garden, as His Royal Highness greets youngsters from the RBGE summer vacation education group, the Garden Gnome Club.

Her Majesty meets RBGE Horticulture volunteers, (left to right) Rosemary Carthy, Elizabeth Ferro, Ann Hughes and Harry Dunn.

1 0 | T H E B O T A N I C S A U T U M N 2 0 1 0

When the Orchid and Cycad House was

originally planted back in 1968, all the

cycads were grouped together to show

the diversity of species regardless of their

environmental requirements. Many had

been planted too close together and too

near the path so we decided to remove

some to give the remaining species

more space and light to grow.

A detailed plan of the Glasshouse

was made, plotting all the cycads,

large trees, shrubs and herbs. We then

referenced our database to check

whether we have duplicate species,

which specimens are wild collected,

whether they are rare and endangered,

their natural habitat and whether they

are of historical importance. Armed

with this information, we were able

to justify which plants should be kept

and which could be removed.

preserve the active roots; it was then

wrapped in arboricultural strops to

protect the trunk and balance the weight.

The leaves were removed to reduce

the stress of replanting and to protect

the staff involved. The hoist worked

remarkably well and we were able to

wheel the cycad to its new location.

A planting pit had been prepared with

a free-draining arid mix and the cycad

was safely lowered into its new home.

As cycads are incredibly slow growing

it’s doubtful that a new flush of leaves

will appear before next year; however,

we know it is alive and well as the trunk

remains firm and it is producing a pup

at the base. We have benefitted from

a relatively warm and sunny summer,

and with careful watering over the

winter we are confident it will now

thrive in its new location for many years

to come. In fact, as some cycads can

live for over two hundred years it may

well outlive the Glasshouses!

One plant in particular stood out as

being a prime candidate for removal –

a large duplicate of Encephalartos

natalensis that had been planted in a

very narrow bed so the spiny leaves had

to be regularly pruned back to protect

visitors and staff. However, as it was

one of the original 1968 plants, we

were faced with the problem of how

to move this majestic, obviously very

old specimen with a trunk measuring

approximately 1.5 metres and weighing

around half a tonne. We had already

identified where we wanted to move

it to; as Encephalartos natalensis is

endemic to South Africa, it is suited to

the environment within our Arid House.

We decided to transport the

specimen using a mobile hoist to do the

donkey work. At the beginning of May

we carefully dug around the cycad to

If you are a regular visitor to the Edinburgh Glasshouses you will have noticed

that over the past three months we have begun to replant areas within our

Orchid and Cycad House. Louise Galloway, Indoor Supervisor, details progress.

Above: The stand of cycads in place before some

were removed.

Below: Staff lower the cycad into its new position

using a hoist and protecting the trunk with

arboricultural strops.

T H E B O T A N I C S A U T U M N 2 0 1 0 | 1 1

Graham Stewart, Curator at Dawyck,

introduces an area of the Garden

which offers something different.

Following the winding path beyond

the more intensely cultivated areas of

the Dawyck Garden, there lies an area

left to its own devices which, since its

establishment in 1993, has become a

haven for lower plants (fungi, mosses,

lichen, liverworts and algae). Within

8.6 acres, an area known as the Heron

Wood, in amongst Scots pine, beech

and colonising native silver birch, the

Garden staff help nature by not being

too tidy, something we sometimes find

difficult! If a branch falls it is left where

it lies – nature has a remarkable way of

dealing with the cleanup process.

The forest floor is covered in moss

broken by groups of ferns and the

trees are clothed in lichen. Amongst

the decaying branches and leaf litter

a remarkable life process goes on,

briefly punctuated in the autumn by

masses of unusual fruiting bodies.

Although unassuming, they are vitally

important for conservation and the

future sustainability of our planet.

It is a wonderful natural system.

The fungi assist with the decay of

debris and leaf litter and also help

existing trees to grow by finding

nutrients and moisture. The mosses

and liverworts assist in the retention

of that moisture, reducing evaporation

from the forest floor. To find out

more look for the interpretation

panels placed around the sanctuary.

You can help nature in your own

garden by not being too pernickety!

Leave a corner of the garden as a

conservation area with leaf litter

or branches. A compost heap will

help too, and will give you a valuable

resource of nutrient-rich organic

matter with which to condition

your plants.

Want to know how the ��Garden grows? A panel of RBGE staff will be on hand each issue to answer your horticultural queries. Please write to [email protected] or to Publications, 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR.Please note that we are not able to answer every question we receive, but we will answer and publish a selection in each issue.

The plant you have asked us

to identify is called Euonymus

japonicus. It is suffering from a strain

of powdery mildew fungus, most likely

to be Microsphaera euonymi-japonici

(Vienn.-Bourg.) U. Braun & S. Takam.

This fungus produces powdery blotches

of white or grey predominantly on

upper leaf surfaces, although lower

leaves, stems, flowers, buds and fruit

can all be affected. The powdery effect

is caused by thousands of spores being

produced by the fungal strands on the

surface of the affected tissue. You do

not mention in your query how badly

affected your hedge is; luckily, powdery

mildew is rarely fatal although it does

cause stress, and severe or successive

infections will weaken the plant overall.

Powdery mildew has been extremely

prolific this summer, probably due to the

early lack of rain and subsequent lack

of moisture in the soil, combined with

high humidity – perfect conditions for

powdery mildew to spread.

The easiest method of control

would be to trim your hedge regularly,

as powdery mildew favours young

and tender growth. If single stems

are affected, prune out as soon as

symptoms appear and burn or discard

safely to avoid spreading the disease.

You could improve the air circulation by

thinning out surrounding plants. Supply

the roots with plenty of water, but only

water around the base, not overhead,

as this can spread the spores. Prevent

water loss by mulching the area.

Avoid feeding your plant a high

nitrogen plant feed as this will

encourage soft succulent growth

which is more prone to infection.

Finally, don’t leave infected material to

overwinter as the fungus can rest ready

to re-infect in the springtime. If the

disease has spread too far to control

by pruning you may have to resort to a

fungicide. There are many fungicides

available from garden centres and on

the internet. Use a UK site and ensure

that the fungicide is safe to use on your

infected plant. Look for ingredients

such as neem oil, sulphur and copper.

You can also use baking soda (potassium

bicarbonate) which I hear is effective;

check online fo more details.

Louise GallowayIndoor Supervisor

1 1


Don’t miss the outdoor screening of

Mia and the Magoo – part of the

Take One Action Film Festival.

Peek behind the scenes at our RBGE

Herbarium and Library Doors Open

Day, and view a huge variety of

apple species on display at the Royal

Caledonian Horticultural Society

‘Apple Days’.

The exhibition opening coincided with

the 9th International Mycological

Congress at the Edinburgh International

Conference Centre, 1–6 August, and

saw visitors from around the world led

on a journey of discovery around the

often hidden kingdom of fungi.

From Another Kingdom, which

runs until 21 November, explains and

celebrates the symbiosis between

people, fungi and all life, and offers

opportunities to meet the scientists

involved in mycological research

and learn more about how fungi play

an integral role in all our lives.

Visitors to the exhibition can take

part in a host of fungi-related events

including making fungi prints with the

kids at the Gateway, attending a drop-

in event by a mycologist in the Real

Life Studio or joining fungi experts

for a fungal forage around Dawyck

Botanic Garden.

For more information about any of

the events taking place as part of From

Another Kingdom: the Amazing World

of Fungi visit www.rbge.org.uk/whats-

on/from-another-kingdom or see the

latest copy of the RBGE What’s On

guide for details.

July also saw the publication of

the book From Another Kingdom:

the Amazing World of Fungi,

which explores the biology, uses,

environmental and cultural aspects

of fungi over ten chapters, written

by some of the world’s leading

mycologists. The book is beautifully

illustrated with stunning photographs

throughout and includes recipes and

a useful glossary. Published by RBGE,

priced £20 + postage and packing.

For more information visit www.

rbge.org.uk/about-us/publications/

publications-catalogue/botanical-

publications/mycological-publications

The book can be bought via the Botanics shop or at www.rbge.org.uk/buyonline or see reader offer on back page.

July saw the opening of RBGE’s

main summer exhibition,

From Another Kingdom: the Amazing World of Fungi, in the John Hope Gateway at

the Edinburgh Garden.

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In conjunction with the From

Another Kingdom: the Amazing

World of Fungi exhibition there will

be a special Café Scientifique session

in the Gateway Restaurant with

Andy Letcher, author of Shroom:

A Cultural History of the Magic

Mushroom. We are also delighted to

host talks by Professor Lynne Boddy

(British Mycological Society) and

Dr Andy Taylor (Macaulay Land Use

Research Institute).

Our autumn season closes with

Scottish International Storytelling

Festival events: a performance by

Bengali script painter and storyteller

Gurupada Chitrakar, a special Garden

Music & Stories evening by singer

and broadcaster Frieda Morrison

and RBGE Curator David Mitchell,

and stories from RBGE expeditions

to East Asia performed by our own

Talking Trees Storytellers.

For more details and further events see www.rbge.org.uk/whats-on

Photo: © Ray and Elma Kearney.


Above: Mia and the Magoo.


In 1959 the American painter Joan

Mitchell (1925–1992) moved from

New York to Vétheuil in the suburbs of

Paris, where the Impressionist painter

Claude Monet had lived from 1878

to 1882. She had already gained

recognition as the youngest member

of the first generation of Abstract

Expressionists, enjoying the admiration

of older artists such as Franz Kline

and Willem de Kooning, but she would

spend the rest of her life here as one

of the most brilliant and distinctive

painters of the post-war period.

Visitors to Inverleith House this

autumn will be able to see the first

Above: Joan Mitchell in front of Bridge, 1957.

Photo: Rudy Burckhardt courtesy of the Joan

Mitchell Foundation and Cheim & Read, New York.

is accompanied by Marion Cajori’s

acclaimed documentary film on the

artist’s life, Portrait of an Abstract

Painter (1992). It forms part of the

2010 Edinburgh Art Festival and is

presented in association with the

Joan Mitchell Foundation, New York.

Joan Mitchell, Inverleith House, 27 July to 3 October, open Tuesday to Sunday, 10 am to 5.30 pm. Admission free.

public exhibition of works by Joan

Mitchell to be staged in the UK.

Reflecting Mitchell’s lifelong love of

nature and of poetry, it comprises

paintings and works on paper created

throughout the artist’s career, selected

by the New York-based writer and

curator Philip Larratt-Smith, who also

contributed to our Louise Bourgeois

exhibition in 1998 (Nature Study).

In her later years, Mitchell would

always take completed paintings out

of her studio and look at them in

natural light, regarding this as a real

test of their quality. It is appropriate,

therefore, that these paintings will

be displayed in Inverleith House, not

only because of its natural light but

because of its views to the Garden and

the flowers and trees which Mitchell so

favoured as subjects. The exhibition

Below: Garden Party, 1961–1962, Joan Mitchell.

Oil on canvas. 63 ½ x 50 ¾ inches, 161.3 x 128.9

centimetres. The Ginny Williams Family Foundation,

The Collection of E. L. Payne Williams. © Estate of

Joan Mitchell. Courtesy Joan Mitchell Foundation

and Cheim & Read, New York.


Sir David Carter, an RBGE Patron, has

held a number of high-profile and

influential posts in both the medical field

and the charity sector throughout his

distinguished career. Knighted in 1996

and decorated by HM the King of Nepal in

1999, David may be most recognised as

former Chief Medical Officer in Scotland,

Regius Professor of Clinical Surgery in

Edinburgh and Vice Chairman of Cancer

Research UK. David currently serves as

Chairman of the Board for Academic

Medicine in Scotland, of the Managed

Service Network for Neurosurgery and

of the Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland.

Both Sir David and Lady Carter are

keen gardeners, although David admits his

wife is far more knowledgeable than him,

and have a particular interest in RBGE’s

work in conservation and reintroduction

of species into former habitats. Especially

fond of visiting Dawyck Botanic Garden

during spring, David enjoys the emerging

rhododendrons and trees coming into leaf.

David has supported RBGE, which

he describes as “one of Scotland’s and

Edinburgh’s most important assets”, for

ten years. When asked why he continues

to support RBGE, he explains: “It forms

an important part of our scientific and

cultural heritage while at the same time

On Sunday 16 May the famous and key

Friends’ fundraising event, the Annual

Plant Sale, returned to the RBGE Nursery

after two years off site. On what was a

beautiful day over 750 people attended

and purchased from a superb selection

of plants, shrubs and trees prepared

and donated throughout the year by a

dedicated group of around 35 Members.

As with previous years, there were

guest nurseries, a book stall and a home

baking stall which was a sell out and

contributed over £1,200 towards the

overall fantastic and record-breaking

total of £12,800 raised on the day.

All profit raised by the Annual

Plant Sale is reinvested back into

RBGE to help fund projects in science,

horticulture and education.

Volunteer potters meet on the

first Tuesday of every month from

10 am to 12 noon to prepare for

the Sale. For more information on

joining the team or if you would like

to donate a plant to the stock please

contact the Membership Office

at [email protected] or on

0131 552 5339. Please note

assistance with digging or transporting

any plant donations can be arranged.

bringing immense pleasure to large

sections of the populace.” He continues:

“One only has to walk through the busy

RBGE on a spring day to appreciate

the way in which the population of

the city love their Garden and take full

advantage of what it offers.” As well as

the beautiful Gardens, he appreciates the

extent of RBGE’s work: “I am also aware

that RBGE is well recognised for its work

internationally and adds significantly

to Scotland’s standing in the fields of

botany, horticulture and ecology.”

On recommending the Patron

Programme to others, David says,

“wholeheartedly!” He was pleasantly

surprised by the opportunities presented

by being a Patron, the highlight being

the once-in-a-lifetime Patron trip to

the Jade Dragon Field Station in Lĳiang,

China in 2004. In addition to the

excellent programme of Patron events,

David is quick to mention how much he

has learned from RBGE staff he has met

through his involvement, such as RBGE’s

Regius Keeper and Professor Mary Gibby.

To become a Patron please contact Jennifer Martin on 0131 248 2826or email: [email protected]. Alternatively, visit www.rbge.org.uk/support-us/home

Below: Volunteer potters at work preparing for

the event.

Above: Sir David Carter, RBGE Patron.


The Hope Tree provides a unique and

lasting opportunity to commemorate

the life of a loved one or celebrate a

significant event. You can choose from

a gold, silver or bronze leaf, which will

be inscribed with a personal message

and remain on public display within the

John Hope Gateway, Edinburgh.

Whichever leaf you buy, you will be

invited to create a free entry in our

interactive online Commemorative

Book, which allows you to upload

photos, add a personal dedication

and invite friends and family, from

anywhere in the world, to add their

own unique message. In recognition of

your purchase you will also receive a

certificate recording the details of your

Autumn 2010 Members are invited

to join a number of wonderful

opportunities to appreciate the fabulous

changes the new season brings.

The autumn Garden Opening

taking place on 4 September at

The Grange, Edinburgh, gives Members

the opportunity to enjoy a lovely

Victorian walled garden with a variety

of plants and trees inspired by

decades of garden visits.

Members have two opportunities

in September to join a walk around

the Biodiversity Garden in Edinburgh

and learn how the planting has been

designed to demonstrate how plants

evolved and the diversity of plant life.

The Autumn Colour Tour in October

is a special opportunity to join a guided

tour of Dawyck Garden led by one

of the Garden staff highlighting the

glories autumn brings.

On 18 November Members have

the unique opportunity to enjoy

‘Saving the Plant, Restoring the

World’s Forests’, a lecture by a very

special guest, Tim Rollinson, Director

General of the Forestry Commission

and a Trustee of RBGE.

To view all Members’ events across the four Gardens see the What’s On guide or visit www.rbge.org.uk/whats-on For events reminders and updates please register for the monthly e-newsletter at [email protected]

leaf and acknowledging your personal

support to the work of the Garden.

For more details on how you can celebrate life with RBGE, please visit celebratelife.rbge.org.uk or call us on 0131 248 2984.

Above and below: The Hope Tree in the John Hope Gateway building.

1 5


Events

Funny fungus

Ilustration: Ryoko Tamura.


What a lot of rotters!

Join the dots

True or false?

Facts


Indonesia is a remarkable archipelago

nation, consisting of over 17,000

islands scattered over the equator

between the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Sumatra is one of the largest islands

and is home to some incredible plants,

such as the titan arum (Amorphophallus

titanum), which has the largest

unbranched inflorescence of any plant,

and Rafflesia arnoldii, the world’s largest

flower – a single bloom may measure up

to one metre across. In addition it holds

populations of the Sumatran orangutan,

Sumatran rhino and Sumatran tiger.

This wealth of diversity is supported

by the range of habitats on the island,

ranging from lowland peat swamp

forest to tropical alpine vegetation.

I am currently in Sumatra on nearly

the last in a series of collecting trips

over a four-year period

during which I have tried to cover

the island from Aceh in the north to

Bengkulu in the south. I arrived in

Jakarta several days ago, as the first

part of any fieldwork in Indonesia is

taken up with a gargantuan amount of

paperwork upon arrival, which requires

a large briefcase and the patience of

Job. Working within the letter and

spirit of the Convention on Biological

Diversity and associated national laws

of Indonesia is of immense importance,

and the application for a research permit

has to be planned about 12 months in

advance. However, this process is eased

by the support of our counterparts in

the Bogor Herbarium and the regional

universities in Sumatra.

The main focus of my work in

Sumatra is to collect specimens of native

Begonia, a genus which is part of our

core research at RBGE. I am searching

for these and other plants in montane

forests, currently in the hills at the

back of the Padang. The terrain is very

varied, with huge cone-shaped volcanic

peaks next to rugged limestone hills.

This variation in altitude and geology

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The montane forests in Padang are amazing – a good news conservation story for once. I’ve met with my collaborators from Bogor Herbarium and Andalas University (a great team) and we have found three new species already! Seeds and herbarium specimens will be sent back shortly.Mark Hughes, Tropical Botanist

is one of the reasons for the botanical

richness of the area. The limestone in

particular is very rich in endemic herbs

and there is still much to be discovered

about the calcareous flora. Within one

hour’s drive of the city are some of the

richest montane rainforests of Sumatra;

the proximity makes for easy collecting

and exploring without losing most of

the day through hiking. It also means

the possibility (not always realised!)

of an air-conditioned room at night,

very refreshing after a day in the field.

When we do stray further afield, our

counterparts invariably have a relative,

however distant, in just about every

village who can provide a meal and a place

to sleep. The end of the working day is

taken up with packing the drying oven

with specimens which will dry overnight,

ready for packaging and distributing to

herbaria worldwide at the end of the

trip. A number of my finds so far are

definitely species new to science, which

I will publish and assign a

conservation category

to upon return to

Edinburgh.

Top: Mark Hughes, RBGE (far right), with colleagues

from Bogor Herbarium and Andalas University.

Above: A new species of Begonia from Bukit

Sebelah, West Sumatra.

Main: The granitic cliffs of Lembah Harau,

West Sumatra.


The Garden has always had a high

reputation for passing on practical skills

to new generations of horticulturists,

whether here in Scotland or as part of

joint ventures abroad. Until recently,

however, much of this expertise was

delivered informally or via teaching

programmes created from scratch for

particular occasions.

When Leigh Morris took up the

post of Head of Education at RBGE

in 2004, he saw an opportunity to

benefit teachers and students alike by

organising basic horticultural teaching

in a more structured way, delivering a

recognised qualification at the end.

He examined existing short horticultural

courses being taught across the UK,

but these were largely theory-based,

with relatively little emphasis on

students ‘doing stuff’ themselves.

So Leigh decided to create a course

himself, and the Certificate in Practical

Horticulture (CPH) was the result.

After an initial period of

development, Leigh devised a formal

syllabus for the CPH in 2007 while

visiting the Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanic

Garden in Istanbul, as part of a joint

Darwin Initiative programme. The full

course was then delivered in Turkey

by RGBE staff the following year.

From 2009 onwards, local staff in

Istanbul have been running the course

for their own students, verified by RBGE.

The CPH can be taught intensively

or over a longer period. It consists

of eight full-day teaching units, each

focusing on a different aspect of basic

horticultural practice – propagation,

soils and composting, planting out,

etc followed by revision and a mainly

practical assessment.

Following its launch in Istanbul, the

CPH is now also run as a one-day-a-

month course in Edinburgh, aimed at,

among others, keen amateur gardeners;

other recipients in Edinburgh have ranged

from visiting Yemeni horticulturists to

the horticultural team at Edinburgh Zoo.

Outside Scotland, courses have been

run by RBGE staff in Oman, Lao PDR and

China, and a ‘training the trainers’ course

will take place at Queen Sirikit Botanic

Garden, Thailand, early in 2011.

Although basic horticultural principles

apply worldwide, the CPH is careful to

adapt its content to the local situation.

“Take the topic of growing media,” says

Leigh. “In Oman, we have to remember

that virtually everything has to be

imported. In Lao PDR, by contrast,

we do use local materials, but they

would be a surprise to most Scottish

gardeners, as they include rice husks,

river sand and buffalo dung!”

The CPH is now endorsed by Botanic

Gardens Conservation International, and

RBGE was delighted to receive a grant

from the Stanley Smith Horticultural

Trust to appoint a full-time co-ordinator

for the expanding programme, with

Laura Cohen taking up this position

in August 2010. The Eden Project in

Cornwall has also become a valued

partner in delivering and further

developing the course.

With its philosophy of combining

key practical skills with a formal

course structure and sensitivity to

local conditions, the future of the

CPH as an internationally recognised

qualification looks strong.

RBGE also runs a sister course to

the CPH, the Certificate in Practical

Field Botany (CPFB). To find out

more about both courses, contact

RBGE’s Education Department

on 0131 248 2937 or download

material from our website

www.rbge.org.uk/education

Richard Beatty reports on

the success of RBGE’s Certificate

in Practical Horticulture,

which is being adopted

increasingly by botanic gardens

across the world.

Top: Leigh Morris, RBGE’s Head of Education,

demonstrates plant identification skills to botanists

in Lao PDR.

Below: CPH attendees in Oman learn planting

techniques.


Open Sundays only in FebruaryOpen daily 15 March to 31 October

Port Logan, Dumfries and Galloway, DG9 9NDTel: 01776 860231 • Email: [email protected]

Admission charge applies.

Open daily 1 February to 30 NovemberStobo, Scottish Borders, EH45 9JU

Tel: 01721 760254 • Email: [email protected]


Open daily 1 March to 31 OctoberDunoon, Argyll, PA23 8QU

Tel: 01369 706261 • Email: [email protected]


For further information about the Gardens visit

www.rbge.org.ukFor a What’s on guide, contact Alice Jacobs

Tel: 0131 248 2991 • Email: [email protected]

Open daily (except 25 December and 1 January)Inverleith Row, Edinburgh, EH3 5LR

Tel: 0131 552 7171 • Email: [email protected]

Admission to the Garden is free; charge applies to the Glasshouses.

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Benmore Botanic Garden

Logan Botanic Garden

Dawyck Botanic Garden

SCOTLAND'S

FIRST 5 STAR GARDEN

Sign up for our e-newsletter at www.rbge.org.uk/e-news

Members receive 10% discount by simply inserting the current promotional code.

Photo: Peter Clarke

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Issue 42, Autumn 2010

Documents