The Plant Hunters
Join us at The Royal Geographical Society. This is a charity fund raising event for the The Tree Register
A lecture by Seamus O’Brien, Head Gardener at the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland, Kilmacurragh.
Captain Frank Kingdon Ward (1885-1958) is regarded as the last of the great plant hunters. He first travelled on the Bedford Expedition to China in 1909, concluding his travels 47 years later on the summit of Mount Victoria in north-eastern Myanmar. During that time he discovered a plethora of new plant species, introducing blue poppies, Asiatic primulas, rhododendrons and other exotics to our gardens. He was awarded the Royal Geographical Society’s gold medal for geographical and botanical exploration in China and Tibet in 1930 and had many daring adventures while filling in the ‘blanks’ on maps in Asia. Since 1997 Seamus O’Brien has retraced his routes across China, Myanmar and north-east India.
This lecture is illustrated using many of Kingdon Ward’s original photographs, some of which will be on display before the lecture in the Reading Room, along with other special plant hunter items from the RGS archives which have never been displayed before.
Doors open at 6:30pm
Lecture starts at 7:30pm
Finishes at 9:30pm
