Dear goanet readers Not having walked around Kew Gardens for many years, the last sunny weekend, Melvyn and I visited it not once but twice, on Saturday and on Sunday.
The reason on Saturday though was a sad one as the husband of one of my close friends suddenly passed away and my friend had his wake in the Pavillion Restaurant in Kew Gardens due to his interest in plants and gardens. In lieu of flowers, she requested donatons to the Kew Gardens Seed Bank and I have to admit this is the first time I have heard of this project although work has been going on it for some time. For those not in the know, located in 300 acres of beautiful landscape, Kew Gardens sits beside the river Thames between Richmond and Kew in south- west London. The Gardens were declared a World Heritage Site in July 2003, with six magnificent glasshouses, and are home to a remarkable collection of plants from all over the world including over 14,000 trees. If you would like further information and read about its royal connection, please visit the following website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Botanic_Gardens,_Kew. This is what the Kew Gardens website says on these Seed collections: Quote: Kew's Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst Place now conserves over 30,855 species as seed samples from at least one population. This equals a stunning 1.8 billion seeds in the bank, with another 1.8 billion conserved in the countries of origin. Find out more about this truly global conservation effort, how it has been done, how it will continue, and what it offers for the long-term benefit of people, plant species and vegetations around the world. Unquote The Kew Gardens Seed Bank has an on-line catalogue and this is what they have documented for Goa: Catalogue No. 51628 - Compositae Launaea Pinnatifida Cass. Stem and Leaves are stored. Catalogue No. 62519 Leeaceae Leea sp. Root stored. Root use: Dysentery and Diarrhoea. User: Man. Readers can view this plant on Dinesh Valke's flickr photos www.flickr.com/photos/dinesh_valke/3295059359. Catalogue No. 64016 - Rutaceae Zanthoxylum Rhetsa. Root stored. Use: Medical and Veterninary. Readers can view a photograph by Chaloun of this plant on www.flickr.com/photos/50922563@N03/5035282446/ Catalogues Nos. 65424 and 65403 - Malvacea Althae sp. Root stored. Use: Medical and Veterinary. Root use: Food and Drink. User: Man. Food: Substitute for Marsh Mallow, used by the Portuguese of Goa Catalogue No. 63134 (Root stored) and Catalogue 63058(Twigs stored) - Meliaceae Naregamia Alta Wight & Arm. Stem use: Emetic (induces vomiting). User: Man. Readers can view a photograph of this uploaded by Dinesh Valke on www.flickr.com/photos/dinesh_valke/705908614/ As you know, seeds can be stored for thousands of years and can always be brought back to life ensuring that our plants will not be extinct for future generations. Rose Fernandes Thornton Heath, Surrey, United Kingdom 30 May 2012
