Science

Research and Conservation

 

Research 

OBGA scientists work on a broad portfolio of collections-based and interdisciplinary research. Our work explores fundamental processes in plant evolution and reproduction using genetics and genomics, and examines potential applications of plants in technology. This research is carried out in close collaboration with other scientists at the University of Oxford’s Biology Department, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, and other institutions around the world. 

Research at the Botanic Garden focusses on the evolution of new species in ragworts (Senecio spp.) and carnivorous pitcher plants (Nepenthes spp.), as well as taxonomically complex parasitic plant groups (for example Orobanche, Cistanche and Hydnora).  

 

Conservation 

With two in five plant species threatened with extinction worldwide, conservation of the world’s flora has never been more important. At Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum, we are working with botanists around the world to develop ex situ conservation plant collections. Supporting biodiversity hotspots (areas rich in plant species), this research focuses on the Mediterranean Basin, the Canary Islands, Ethiopia and Japan.  

The living plant collection across both sites contains about 5,000 different types of plant and holds significant conservation value. As part of our commitment to delivering against the strategy set by the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, OBGA works with partners in Oxfordshire and across the globe to conserve rare plants. Some of those grown within our collections can be found nowhere else in the world.