Wellcome uses cookies.

Read our policy
Wellcome Collection homepage
All
Stories
Images
Catalogue
Events

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

Unravelling genetic origins from the potato to cinchona

Starting with the humble potato, Nataly Allasi Canales reveals how researchers unearth the genetic origins of modern plant varieties, and explains why their work is so important for biodiversity.

  • Article

Parasites and pests from the medieval to the modern

Humans have been reluctant hosts to a plethora of unpleasant parasites for centuries. And medieval evidence shows our modern distaste for these little irritations is just as ancient.

  • Article

Chillies and the trouble with Scoville

Measuring the heat of these peppers can leave you a little lukewarm.

All stories (10)

Images

  • Aubergine or egg plant (Solanum melongena): fruits of different varieties. Chromolithograph, c. 1870, after H. Briscoe.
  • Report of the Third International Conference 1906 on Genetics : hybridisation (the cross-breeding of genera or species), the cross-breeding of varieties, and general plant-breeding / edited by W. Wilks.
  • Report of the Third International Conference 1906 on Genetics : hybridisation (the cross-breeding of genera or species), the cross-breeding of varieties, and general plant-breeding / edited by W. Wilks.
  • Three flowering plants, all varieties of the genus Babiana. Coloured lithograph.
  • Seed head of a thuja tree. This plant has natural antimicrobial properties and is used in a variety of preparations for wart removal, thrush, and ringworm.
  • Cucurbita pepo L., Cucurbitaceae. Distribution: Mexico (extinct) This species is one of the oldest cultivated plants, first grown 11,000 years ago in Mexico, but extinct in the wild. Varieties are selectively bred for their taste, colour and shape. The seeds, ground to a powder are used to kill intestinal tape-worms (Lewis & Elvin-Lewis, 2003). This is a 200-year-old cultivar whose seed has been conserved by the Amish of Pennsylvania, USA. The rind is very thick, but the taste is delicious. This is a 200-year-old cultivar whose seed has been conserved by the Amish of Pennsylvania, USA. The rind is very thick, but the taste is delicious. Seeds approved for use in making herbal medicines in the UK (Herbal Medicine legislation 2013) Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Prostanthera ovalifolia R.Br. Lamiaceae Alpine anise bush, Oval leaf Mintbush, Purple mintbush. Woody shrub. Distribution: Australia. Minty flavoured leaves used in jams and jellies. Various essential oils are produced from commercially grown P. ovalifolia (cis-dihydroagarofuran, kessane, 1,8-cineole which is also known as eucalyptol, p-cymene,) and P. cuneata also contains eucalyptol. Concentrations of essential oils in the plants vary according to the clonal variety, growing conditions and time of year. Aboriginal peoples used Prostanthera leaves in medicinal ointments and washes, but one species, P. striatiflora, was used to poison waterholes to kill visiting emu (Hegarty, 2001). Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Four cultivars of apple (Malus pumila cv.): entire fruit. Coloured etching, c. 1820.
  • Two cultivars of apple (Malus pumila): a Bùrrell's Red' and Ròyal Codling'. Coloured engraving by J. & J. Parkin, 1834, after C. Harrison.
  • Rose flowers (5 varieties). Coloured engraving by H. Fletcher, c. 1730, after J. van Huysum.
All images (77)

Catalogue

All works (284)