Vascular plant taxonomy & conservation biology

The priorities for the Vascular Plant Section are the taxonomy and conservation biology of flowering plants and ferns. The section's only current expert is Dr Tim Rich and the research undertaken reflects his interests and expertise trying to maximise use of the museum collections. Strong and active collaborative links are maintained with other botanical institutions such as National Botanic Garden of Wales, Kew Gardens and Bristol University. The work focuses on plants which are difficult to identify utilising the Welsh National Herbarium as the key reference collection, as this is a major weakness in biodiversity assessment across the United Kingdom and Ireland. The results of the work are made available through contract reports, publications in refereed journals and books.