Kew Herbarium Handbook
Product Information
The Herbarium Handbook has been an important reference for herbarium collections care and management since it was first published in 1989. It draws on standard herbarium practices and personal experience from experts at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, as well as contributions from partners and collaborators around the world, making it a celebration of collective knowledge.
The book covers everything needed for contemporary herbarium management, from creating collections, preparing and caring for specimens and managing a herbarium building, through to public engagement and outreach, and features highlights of herbaria from around the world.
Highly accessible and adaptable, this richly illustrated handbook is the essential resource and training tool for all botanists, herbarium managers and curators involved with the making and maintenance of herbarium collections.
Nina Davies is the Herbarium Curation Manager at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Her research interests are focused on African Rubiaceae and engaging a wider audience with herbarium collections.
Clare Drinkell is a Senior Curator Botanist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Her research interests are in exploring ideas in creative engagement in science. Clare’s taxonomic focus is on plant families in South-East Asia.
Timothy Utteridge is a botanist in the Asia Team at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. His research focuses on the taxonomy and systematics of various woody plant groups in South-East Asia. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Kew Bulletin and co-author of Trees of New Guinea, The Kew Tropical Plant Families Identification Handbook and A Guides to the Alpine and Subalpine Flora of Mount Jaya (all Kew Publishing).
FAQs
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All plants are sent via express courier services with DPD, UPS, Parcelforce, and Royal Mail. Choose from economy (4–5 day dispatch), standard (1–3 day dispatch), or express for guaranteed next day dispatch available at checkout for an additional cost.
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All plants are shipped in their plastic nursery pot unless otherwise stated.
Plant pot sizes can fluctuate +/- 1cm.
We recommend to always size up your decorative pot by 1-2cm larger than the stated plant pot size. For example if you are purchasing a 12cm plant, you should purchase a 14cm decorative pot to ensure it will fit correctly.
We pride ourselves on the love and care with give our plants. Our entire team are plant obsessives at heart and so we go above and beyond to care for the plants we have in stock.
That said, plants are living beings and may differ slightly from the photo provided unless otherwise stated. Small leaf imperfections may be present and won't be compensated for.
Some plants such as Begonia, may suffer slight leaf melt when shipped. This is normal and nothing to be concerned about.
All our plants are stores and/or grown in our nursery under LED lighting so they are in active growth when arriving with you.
The conditions in our nursery are a minimum of 60% humidity and 19C year round.
If you have any questions about caring for your plants or setting up your home for success, don't hesitate to contact us.
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Plus, every plant comes with a 7-day live arrival guarantee—so if the unexpected happens, we've got you covered!
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Our packaging process is designed with quality control at its core—each plant is carefully inspected by hand before shipping to guarantee it arrives healthy, pest-free, and in perfect condition.
Give the Gift of Green
All our houseplants arrive fully potted and ready to grow—no extra fuss required! They make incredible gifts for any plant lover (or soon-to-be plant parent!). 🎁
Want to send a surprise? We can ship your gift directly to the recipient, and if you leave a greeting message at checkout, we’ll swap out the invoice for a gift note—because who doesn’t love a little extra plant happiness in their day? 🌿✨