Botanical Garden Collection

Cochineal beetle harvest, by Eadweard Muybridge
Dactylopius coccus, cochineal beetles being harvested from Opuntia cacti, Antigua, West Indies, for the production of carminic acid used in the carmine dye, cochineal

Seedlings of Cinchona succirubra, India, 1861
Seedlings of Cinchona succirubra, photographed on arrival in Ootacamund, southern India, 9 April 1861. Collected by Richard Spruce in Ecuador, the plants were received by WIlliam McIvor

The Rhododendron Dell, Kew Gardens
19th century photograph of The Rhododendron Dell, Kew Gardens. Originally Capability Browns " Hollow Walk" it was created in 1773 and planted with rhododendrons in 1850

Henry Ridley and rubber tree, Singapore
Extension of original cutting on an old Para rubber tree, Hevea brasiliensis - Henry Ridley ( Rubber Ridley ) and rubber tree, tapped for latex

The Tea House, Kew Gardens, which opened in 1888, seen here before it was burned down by members of the womens suffrage movement as part of their campaign

Waterlily Pond, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, ca 1900
The waterlily pond, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, ca 1900. The pond was one of Sir William Thiselton-Dyers additions, heated by condensed steam from the local water supply

Richard Spruce (1817-1893) botanist and plant collector who was commissioned by William Hooker to transfer the cinchona (quinine) industry from South America to India

The Birdman, Mr Allaway, 1901
The Birdman, Mr Allaway feeding penguin outside Museum No. 1 - 1901. In 1899 three penguins were presented to Kew by Albert Linney

Japanese Gateway, Kew Gardens c. 1910
Model of the Chokushi-Mon (Gateway of the Imperial Messenger), better known as the Japanese Gateway, gifted to Kew after its inclusion in the Japan-British exhibition held at Shepherds Bush in 1910

Richard Spruce (1817-1893) botanist, explorer, plant collector

The Kew Gardens Question. This political cartoon was published in 1878 as part of the ongoing debate as to whether the public should be allowed into the gardens in the mornings, before 1pm

Kew Pagoda from the Refreshment Pavillion

The arrival of the flagstaff off the Sion Vista, Kew, circa 1916
The arrival of the flagstaff off the Sion Vista, Kew: " accepting delivery", circa 1916. Gifted by the Provincial Governement of British Columbia, it was towed along the Thames by tug boat

Joey the Stanley Crane, Kew Gardens
Joey the Stanley Crane was a well-known Kew personality. In 1935 The Journal of the Kew Guild described his eventful life, which included losing a toe to a lawn mower

Aircraft crash, Kew, 1928
On the 16th August, 1928, a single seater Siskin aircraft came down in flames to the west of the Syon Vista, Kew Gardens, during an aerial display

Burnt remains of the Refreshment Pavilion, Kew Gardens, 1913
In 1913 the tea pavilion at Kew Gardens was burnt down by members of the womens suffrage movement as part of their campaign

Directors House and Garden, Kew. Sir William Turner Thiselton-Dyer and Harriet Anne Thiselton-Dyer (Nee Hoche). He became Assistant Director of Kew in 1875

The Palm House, Kew Gardens
A visitor sits reading inside the Palm House, Kew Gardens. The Palm House was opened in 1848. Decimus Burton was the architect and Richard Turner as engineer provided the ironwork

Lalbagh Botanic Gardens, Bangalore, India were established in 1760 by Hyder Ali. Once they came under state control in 1856

Cultivation of Cinchona succirubra trees on the Madulsima Cinchona Cos estate, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) 1882. The plants pictured are 8 -10 years old

Felled tree for Kew Flagstaff, British Columbia, 1914
British COlumbia 1914: The felled tree which was to form the great flagstaff at RBG Kew from 1919 to 1959. Made from a Douglas fir

The Great Flagstaff, RBG Kew, ca. 1900-1905
Photograph of The Great Flagstaff at RBG Kew, flying the Union Flag, ca. 1900-1905. It stood until August 2007

Kew Flag pole en route from Vancouver, 1915
The great Kew flagstaff is seen here en route from Vancouver aboard the SS Merionethshire, arriving at Tilbury Docks on 29 December 1915

Aircraft emergency landing, Kew, 1938
On 5th January 1938 an aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing near the Palm House, Kew. It had been pulling an advertising banner

Stereograph, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
This stereograph of the interior of one of the T-Range glasshouses shoes a sign requesting visitors to keep to the right and to refrain from touching the plants

Kew Green, Richmond, at the end of the August Bank Holiday, 1926
Kew Green, Richmond, at the end of the August Bank Holiday celebrations, 1926. William Dallimore, Keeper of the Museums of Economic Botany, Kew Gardens, described a Bank Holiday in the 1890 s

Amorphophallus titanum flowering, 1901
The Titan arum, Amorphophallus titanum is known as the corpse flower in its native Indonesia because of the rancid smell, described by Curtiss Botanical magazine as a mixture of rotten fish

Kew Road and Entrance to Kew Gardens
A horse-drawn trolley bus and a horse and cart in Kew Road, close to the entrance of Kew Gardens. Trolley buses such as these ran from the Orange Tree public house near Richmond Station to Kew Bridge

Kew Pier and steam boat
Steam boats were introduced in 1816. Initially they went straight to Richmond without stopping at Kew but eventually a stop at Kew Pier was added

Japanese hemp production circa 1910. This image came to Kew from the Japan-British exhibition of 1910, which was held to encourage Japanese-British relations

Drying coffee in the Straits Settlements, Southeast Asia, 1899
Workers drying coffee in the Straits Settlements, Southeast Asia, 1899. Once harvested, the coffee " cherries" were sorted

Preparing cinnamon quills for drying, Sri lanka, 1880 s
Preparing cinnamon quills for drying, Sri Lanka, 1880 s. Once the inner bark has been cleaned, the quills are placed one inside another to form quills 1metre long, which are then dried on racks

Coffee harvest at Batu Cave Estate, Singapore, 1899

Men laden with Brick tea for Tibet, 1908
Tachienlu (now Kanding), West Sichuan, China : Men laden with Brick tea for Tibet. One mans load weighs 317 lbs, the others 298 lbs

Harvesting tea leaves, India
Harvesting tea leaves, often known as plucking, India. The leaves need to be picked selectively to maintain the quality of the tea and could not be held in the hand long

C W Anderson with Cannonball tree, Couroupita guianensis photographed at the Botanical Gardens, Georgetown
C W Anderson with Cannonball tree, Couroupita guianensis, photographed at the Botanical Gardens, Georgetown, Guyana (then British Guiana), early 20th century

Sir William Hooker (1785-1865). Botanist, illustrator and the first public Director of Kew Gardens 1841. He also held the post of Regius Professor of Botany in Glasgow in 1820

Miss Cotton posing on the leaf of giant waterlily Kew Gardens, 1923
" Miss Cotton" posing on the leaf of giant waterlily Victoria amazonica, Kew Gardens, Richmond, Surrey, 1923. It is likely that she was the daughter of Arthur Cotton

Ringing the work bell, India circa 1910
Bell tolled to summon staff to work, Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden, Kolkata, India, circa 1910. The bell is being rung by a Nepali durwan (doorman)

House of Walter Haydon, curator of the botanic station at Kotu in Gambia
House of Walter Haydon, appointed curator of the botanic station at Kotu in Gambia in 1894. The house was built for him on site so that he could always command a view of all the ground under

Preparing cinnamon, Sri Lanka, 1880 s. The cinnamon is contained in the inner bark of the tree. Once the shoots have been harvested the outer bark is peeled off by rubbing with a brass rod or blunt

Drying or withering tea leaves
Drying out the tea leaves, known as withering. Approx. 80% of moisture needs to be removed from freshly picked leaves to preserve them and enhance the teas flavour

Packing tea in India for export to the west

Bringing in the plucked tea leaves in India. Workers with baskets of tea leaves ready to be processed for export

Tea plantation, Far East
Terraces of a tea plantation in the Far East, showing Camellia sinensis var sinensis, used to produce Chinese and green tea. Women harvest the tea leaves, a process known as " plucking"

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