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Botany Department
The Botany Department is primarily concerned with the science of horticultural taxonomy, and is based upon a herbarium focused uniquely upon cultivated plants of the temperate northern hemisphere. The herbarium, which currently contains more than 70,000 specimens, is a rich archive which forms a basis for the plant identification service for members and taxonomic research.
The Department is responsible for nine cultivar registers, which provide an authoritative index to the many thousands of names in these plant groups.
The RHS Horticultural Database provides information on plants in cultivation: their location in RHS gardens, horticultural awards, bibliography, nursery suppliers (through the RHS Plant Finder) and much more.
Research in the Department concentrates on the nomenclature of cultivated plants and the identification of cultivars using traditional and modern techniques, including molecular markers. This work is undertaken in collaboration with the Centre for Plant Diversity at the University of Reading. Other collaborative work has been undertaken in association with Quest International on the profiling of plant scent. Much of the Department's nomenclatural work is reflected in the annual publication, the RHS Plant Finder.
The RHS Trials group conducts trials on a wide range of horticultural plants with the aim of identifying those of particular worth for the Award of Garden Merit. Each year a range of genera are studied under trial and judged by expert committees. The Trials group work with horticultural taxonomists within the Department on plant nomenclature and taxonomic projects. They also work closely with the Pest and Disease Science Section for the diagnosis and management of such problems.
Hanburyana
Hanburyana, published annually by the RHS Botany Department, is a serial dedicated to horticultural taxonomy.
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Further reading
Andrews, S, Leslie, A C & Alexander, C, (eds). 2000. Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on the Taxonomy of Cultivated Plants, Edinburgh, 1998. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK.