Feature articles

UK: Where have all the hunter-gatherers gone?

04.03.10

Harvesting bilberriesPlant Talk invited Jennifer Lee from the University of Liverpool to share her knowledge on modern day wild food foraging and its implications for plant conservation.

Plant Profile: Philodendron bipinnatifidum

18.02.10

Guembe flower In this special two part feature Prof. Ghillean Prance and Dr. Hector Keller take a close look at Philodendron bipinnatifidum (Araceae) in the Atlantic Forest of Misiones, Argentina.

Mali: Plants at the heart of everyday life

11.02.10 by Camilla Toulmin, IIED

Baobab flowerThe black of the night sky was thinning as Nyeli Tangara rolled out of bed, hitching her baby onto her back and collecting her rope and bucket. In the distance, she could hear the first thud-thud-thud of pestle and mortar, as women across the village began the rhythm of a new morning.

Philippines: Geo-tagging reveals mining threats on the “Last frontier”

01.02.10

mining in the philippinesPlant Talk invited Dario Novellino from the Centre for Biocultural Diversity (CBCD), UK to speak out against the logging and mining in protected areas that is destroying the forests of Palawan.

Nymphaea tetragona: A rare and endangered plant

05.01.10

15The Pygmy Water-lily, Nymphaea tetragona (Ait.) Georgi (Nymphaceae), is the Asia-tropical representative of the diminutive water-lilies.

UK: Keeping invaders out of the Forest

15.12.09

himalayan balsamThe New Forest is one of the most important areas for wildlife in Western Europe but its rivers and wetlands are threatened by an invasion of non-native plants. The battle lines are drawn and Catherine Chatters describes how she is taking up the fight.

Chile: A Chilean conservation adventure

13.11.09

collecting data on plants Smoking volcanoes, devastated towns, leech infested forests, endless breathtaking landscapes, and the beautiful but often highly endangered plant species of South America greeted the team from Wakehurst Place, Kew’s country estate in West Sussex, the Forestry Commission's Bedgebury Pinetum and Westonbirt Arboretum.

 

Seychelles: More news from an Island Paradise...

beach on seychellesThe Seychelles are a group of 115 islands sheltering in the Indian Ocean. Famous for honeymooners lounging on sandy beaches, they appear a paradise on earth. But beneath the coconut palms you will see people and nature trying hard to get along.

 

UK: Ecology, culture and passion

picture of wildlflowers and bus 25/09/09 Richard Scott from Landlife tells us how they make things happen... Starting points are critical in determining the places you might get to. They are the launching platforms for what is possible. “Culture” said Liverpool poet Brian Patten “is a by-product of people’s aspirations; it’s to do with achievement, endeavour, hope, and all things that make us a little more than we begin as.”

India: Tapyo - A herbal salt of the Apatani

The Apatani group of villages located in Lower Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India, lie on the border of the Himalaya and Indo Burma Biodiversity Hotspots. Due to their geographical isolation - living in the interior of dense forests and unconnected by any means of communication - the villagers tried to evolve a self-sufficiency economy where they met their requirements from the surrounding natural resources.

UK: Wildlife returns to flooded bog

A huge restoration project to bring back 12,000 year old bogs in Northumberland has been completed nearly two years ahead of schedule.

Himalayas: Vulnerable species at mountainous crossroads

A new report by WWF - The Eastern Himalayas: Where Worlds Collide - describes more than 350 new species living at a geographical and ecological crossroad.

The Burren: Invasive scrub threatens Ireland's botanical jewel

Changes in management techniques threaten one of Europe's most important botanical sites, but a team of scientists and farmers are working together to safeguard its future.

Redd alert

It's time we brush up on REDD - or Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation - for all our sakes.

News from an island paradise

A new plant research agenda for the Seychelles hopes to prioritise conservation research questions for the next five to ten years that will inform the plant conservation management of the Islands.