Stories
- Article
Hunting lost plants in botanical collections
A bark specimen at Kew recalls the story of a South American man who harvested the most potent source of the only effective malaria treatment available in the late 1800s. Killed for his work and forgotten by history, Manuel Mamani was a victim of the colonial juggernaut.
- Article
Plant portraits
The beautiful and mysterious illustrations in medieval herbals convey a wealth of knowledge about the plants they portray.
- Article
Fantastic beasts and unnatural history
Find out how a 17th-century compendium of the natural world came to present fantastical beasts –like dragons – as real, living creatures.
- Article
A brief history of tattoos
The earliest evidence of tattoo art dates from 5000 BC, and the practice continues to hold meaning for many cultures around the world.
Catalogue
- Archives and manuscripts
- Online
Henry Wellcome Letter Book 3 ['Letter Book 3']
Date: Mar 1890 - Nov 1896Reference: WF/E/01/01/03Part of: Wellcome Foundation Ltd- Books
This book is a plant : how to grow, learn and radically engage with the natural world.
Date: 2022- Pictures
- Online
Snowdon lily (Lloydia serotina): entire flowering plant. Coloured lithograph by W. G. Smith, c. 1863, after himself.
Smith, Worthington George, 1835-1917.Date: [1863-1880]Reference: 24489i- Pictures
- Online
A bunch of winter-flowering plants, including heather, camellia and rhododendron. Chromolithograph by A. Bouvier, 18--.
Bouvier, Alfred.Date: 1800-1899Reference: 27120i- Pictures
- Online
Dutch crocus (Crocus vernus): four diagrams of a whole and sectioned flowering plant. Partially coloured lithograph by W. G. Smith, c. 1863, after himself.
Smith, Worthington George, 1835-1917.Date: [1863-1880]Reference: 24391i