Until July, we have received seeds and plants of about 760 species (including hybrids and cultivars) from botanical gardens, nurseries, and individuals. Many of the seeds came through the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) seed exchange program from other botanical gardens across Europe. Seed germination is not always successful, but we have obtained seedlings of some attractive species, such as Thunbergia coccinea (scarlet clock vine) and Araucaria bidwillii (Bunya pine).

Some begonias (e.g., Begonia cooperi, B. parviflora) also germinated and will be added to our national collections. Pictures show seedlings germinated from the seeds in the Pit 5 glasshouse (on 14th July). Some orchids were also donated by individual collectors.

Those include Pleurothallis and Masdevallia species, which are uncommon to find in orchid vendors’ catalogues. Other orchid and carnivorous Nepenthes species were purchased at orchid shows, and the Friends kindly covered the cost.

On the 17th of June, Dr Kou-Fang Chung and his colleague from the Biodiversity Research Center in Taiwan visited to see our Begonia collections. They study the phylogenetic relationships among Begonia species. They collected leaf samples for their DNA analysis, as some species are difficult to grow in Taiwan due to high temperatures. In return, they will donate some Begonia seeds from their institute.