Plants in Peril
“Plants in Peril”, illustrations of endangered plants from more than thirty countries around the world, will be on display June 25 through October 16, 2011, in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical art at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, just outside London, England.
This exhibition presents paintings from the Shirley Sherwood Collection of endangered plants from over thirty countries around the world, with particular emphasis on South African plants. For its size, South Africa has the greatest diversity of flora in the world and nearly 40% of its indigenous species are threatened, primarily due to loss of habitat. The exhibition also features many familiar horticultural plants from around the world which are extinct or rare in the wild.
As well as showing the beauty of some of the world’s most threatened plants, the exhibition will also inform visitors about the laws and conservation initiatives in place to protect plants.
Part of ‘Plants in Peril’ is the exhibition ‘Losing Paradise?’ from The American Society of Botanical Artists. This project began in 2006 in order to tell two stories, those of the continuing relevance of botanical art and the often neglected story of plant endangerment.
Also on display will be some original paintings by Liz Fraser which were used for our forthcoming Kew publication The Smallest Kingdom written by Mike Fraser (to be published in June 2011).
(Photo of Encephalartos woodii, © Leslie Carol Berg, courtesy of Kew Gardens)