Kew Gardens Gallery

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. HNR/1/2/6/3 Henry Ridley was director of the Singapore Botanic Garden from 1888 to 1911. Through his expertise and ecouragement, and with rubber trees that had been trees sent from Kew in 1877, the Malaysian rubber plantation industry was established. Today most of the world's rubber comes from plantations in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia

© The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Women gardeners put on their clogs ready for work, World War II

Women gardeners were employed at Kew during World War II, after an interval of nearly a quarter of a century. Fourteen women were enrolled onto the staff in 1940, joined by a further thirteen in 1941. The women referred to their unifrom of apron and clogs as battledress'. The clogs were wooden soled shoes with leather uppers. One of the women, Jean Thompson told colleague Betty Cooper: "My most vivid impression was the difficulty I had balancing on the rocks in my clogs."

© RBG KEW

Moth orchid (Phalaenopsis), 1847

Hand-coloured lithograph on paper by Walter Hood Fitch, 1847. Artwork from Curtis's Botanical Magazine, volume 73, plate 4297. Curtis's Botanical Magazine is the longest running botanical periodical featuring colour illustrations of plants and has been published continuously since 1787

© The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

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