Exclusive: up close with a rare endemic plant | Hidden Treasures | S1 EP4

Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum
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Published 2022-10-07
In episode four of Hidden Treasures, host Conor O'Keeffe is joined by curator John Hunnex for a trip through the Museum's British and Irish Herbarium, which is one of the most comprehensive collections of plants from anywhere in the world.

Take an exclusive peek at some of the oldest specimens in the collection, discover how important scientific stories can surround even the most unassuming of specimens, and find out why some scientists are puzzled by dandelions.

See if you can guess what the mystery specimen is by the end of the video!

Hidden Treasures will return for Season 2 in April 2023. Subscribe to our channel so you don’t miss it!

Head to our playlist to catch up on past episodes of Hidden Treasures:    • Hidden Treasures: the behind-the-scen...  

0:00 Intro
1:29 Conor meets the curator of the British and Irish herbarium, John Hunnex
1:54 Malva sylvestris collected in Deptford, 1775
2:28 How to preserve specimens for 500 years
3:06 Theologians, botany and sub-fossils
6:06 What are those mushrooms?
6:57 What's significant about Robert Brown's handwriting?
7:48 Did pollen help Einstein to prove that particles existed?
9:41 Adoxa moschatellina, the moschatel
10:26 How does the Museum store specimens from different climates?
11:30 Significant female botanists and the first ever book that used photographs
12:15 What is this mystery specimen?
13:19 Are there any specimens of extinct plants?
15:00 A rare plant endemic to Britain
17:18 A plant named after Sir David Attenborough
18:50 The common dandelion
22:19 Revealing the mystery specimen
25:27 What are the difficulties in preserving older specimens?

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All Comments (5)
  • @NaturalHistoryMuseum
    Thanks for watching episode four and exploring the plant collection with us! Hidden Treasures will be back Friday 4 November at 15.30 GMT. Subscribe to our channel so you don't miss out on seeing the Fly collection!
  • @ctormor
    Pressed plants give me life <3 And John is the sweetest person ever! Such a knowledgeable curator! <3