Vernon Heywood

University of Reading · School of Biological Sciences

While much has been written about the various ways in which individual botanic gardens are adopting sustainable practices in their operations and are able to inform visitors about the nature of the sustainability message, through education and outreach programmes, little consideration has been given to the sustainability of the institutions theAmo...

Ethnobotany has undergone a radical transformation since the first International Congress of Ethnobotany held in 1992 in Cordoba, Spain. Its scope has been widened, new methodologies applied and the whole context in which ethnobotanical studies are carried out has changed dramatically. Ethnobotany has become much more interdisciplinary and has expa...

Heywood, V. H. 2019: Perspectives for plant conservation in the Mediterranean region.-Bot. Chron. 22: 49-61 The many challenges facing the conservation of the rich and diverse plantlife of the Mediterranean region are reviewed, including the great diversity of political systems in the constituent countries, state of economic development, patterns o...

As an introduction to the Special Issue on the restoration of threatened plant species and their habitats, this editorial shows how the various papers in the issue address the range of in situ interventions involved in species population management and restoration of their habitat, together with examples of case studies implementing these actions....

Heywood, V. H.: The cultural heritage of Mediterranean botanic gardens.-Fl. Medit. 28: 207-218. 2018.-ISSN: 1120-4052 printed, 2240-4538 online. Mediterranean botanic gardens represent a rich and diverse cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible. They include spectacular landscapes and the plantings include many important introductions of bot...

Concluding messages 1. In order to halt and reverse the continuous decline of plant diversity, specific action plans and programmes addressing particular plant conservation challenges must be incorporated in regional and national conservation programmes and strategies. 2. Enhanced cooperation between botanists, practitioners and communities is esse...

Against a background of continuing loss of biodiversity, it is argued that for the successful conservation of threatened plant species we need to ensure the more effective integration of the various conservation actions employed, clarify the wording of the CBD targets and provide clearer operational guidance as to how they are to be implemented and...

Despite the massive efforts that have been made to conserve plant diversity across the world during the past few decades, it is becoming increasingly evident that our current strategies are not sufficiently effective to prevent the continuing decline in biodiversity. As a recent report by the CBD indicates, current progress and commitments are insu...

The nature and composition of urban plant diversity in the Mediterranean Abstract Heywood, V. H.: The nature and composition of urban plant diversity in the Mediterranean.-Fl. Medit. 27: 195-220. 2017.-ISSN: 1120-4052 printed, 2240-4538 online. Mediterranean urban areas house substantial amounts of biodiversity-both plant and animal. Urban green sp...

More than 15 years after the start, the Euro+Med PlantBase project (E+M), which aimed at providing a comprehensive, dynamic and permanently updated online checklist of all vascular plants for Europe and the Mediterranean countries, is now very close to full coverage. E+M is the most detailed resource on plant biodiversity in the Euro-Mediterranean...

The world's biodiversity, especially plants, is the direct or ultimate source of up to half of the drugs we depend on today and is also the basis of countless traditional medicines that form the primary healthcare delivery system for hundreds of millions of people. This resource base and the traditional knowledge on its use is at risk from habitat...

The botanic gardens of the Mediterranean have played an important role in the study of the plant life of the region through exploration, taxonomic and ecological studies, introduction of new material and more recently in the conservation of germplasm in genebanks, living collections and conservation, recovery and reintroduction of threatened specie...

The Mediterranean is a major world centre of plant diversity, although this fact tends to be overlooked in global considerations when emphasis tends to be placed on the great richness and diversity of the plant life that occurs in tropical regions. The Mediterranean basin not only houses some 25-30 O00 species, up to 50% of which are endemic to the...

Abstract: Within the Apiales, the Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) is by far the most important family, both economically and socially. Although it includes the carrot (Daucus carota), one of the world’s leading root crops, and other widely consumed vegetables such as parsnip (Pastinaca sativa), celery and celeriac (Apium graveolens), the family is perhaps...

The conservation of plant species in situ is a complex and multifaceted procedure which involves both the maintenance and management of protected areas and actions targeted at the species and population level. Most effort has been aimed so far at the occurrence and persistence of species in protected areas as a measure of conservation. However, spe...

The conservation of species in situ is one of the least understood issues of biodiversity conser- vation and probably the least addressed. The main general aim and long-term goal of in situ conservation of target species is to protect, manage and monitor selected populations in their natural habitats so that the natural evolutionary processes can b...

The use of voluntary Codes of conduct as a useful tool in our armoury for tackling the problems of Invasive Alien Species (IAS) is a recent development. Two Council of Europe‐sponsored Codes of conduct address different but overlapping constituencies – the horticultural trade and botanic gardens respectively, both of them important as actual or pot...

20 Invasive alien species: a growing but neglected threat? Biological invasions are one of the five major causes of biodiversity loss as global human travel and trade have moved, and continue to move, thousands of species between and across continents. Some species of alien origin have a high probability of unrestrained growth which can ultimately...

Abstract Heywood, V.H.: The role of New World biodiversity in the transformation of Mediterranean landscapes and culture. — Bocconea 24: 69-93. 2012. — ISSN 1120-4060. Over the past two millennia the Mediterranean region has been the recipient of many waves of plant introductions, some of which have produced major effects on the landscapes and live...

A summary is given of the current state of conservation of plant diversity in Europe and gaps in our baseline knowlege are identified. Published data on the recent effects on climate change on European plants are reviewed, including changes in phenology and altitudinal shifts. All the available evidence points to the high probability that plant div...

Ornamental horticulture has been recognized as the main pathway of recent plant invasions in Europe and worldwide. It is estimated that 80 percent of current invasive alien plants in Europe were introduced as ornamental or agricultural/forestry plants. The European Union foresees a global strategy to tackle biological invasions, also taking into ac...

This book is the result of the combined efforts of many people who were closely involved with the UNEP/GEF Crop Wild Relatives Project since its beginning in 2004. It has involved significant contributions from individuals representing national and international organizations who collaborated closely with the project. Their dedication and commitmen...

Before sensible conservation decisions can be made, a basic understanding of the taxonomy, genetic diversity, geographic distribution, ecological adaptation and ethnobotany of a plant group, as well as of the geography, ecology, climate and human communities of the target region, is essential (Guarino et al, 2005). Aims and purpose Before any conse...

Increasing our knowledge of the biodiversity of a country with great riches of natural and cultural resources like ours, and contributing to the sustainable development of the natural resources that lead to a reduction in poverty, is not only a major need but a great challenge (René Orellana Halkyer and Juan Pablo Ramos Morales, 2009). This chapter...

Adopting a complementary conservation strategy means that a range of methods are employed, each appropriate to a specific component part of the overall conservation programme and taken together, these methods complement each other in order to achieve the most efficient and safest conservation in the long term (Sharrock and Engels, 1996). Aim of thi...

There is a need for more effective policies, legislation and regulations governing the in situ and on farm management of PGRFA, both inside and outside of protected areas (Second Report on the State of the World's Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, 2010). General and specific aims of in situ species conservation It might appear to be...

For most wild species the best that we can hope for is to establish and monitor their presence in some form of protected area where, provided the area itself is not under threat, and subject to the dynamics of the system and the extent of human pressures, some degree of protection may be afforded.We are a long way from achieving even this. Moreover...

More than 90 per cent of the terrestrial surface of the earth is not covered by any form of protected area category. If this situation does not change, there will be severe loss of biological wealth in the next few decades (Halladay and Gilmour, 1995). Aims and purpose Given that national parks and other conservation areas cover only 12 to 13 per c...

Rapid climate change is widely acknowledged as the greatest challenge facing life on earth. The potential impact of climate change on the broad portfolio of underutilized plant species has not been assessed. The impacts of climate change on wild underutilized species, will vary, depending on their natural distribution, nature of predicted changes,...

It is becoming increasingly clear that ethnopharmacology cannot be disassociated from food production, human nutrition and the conservation of the biodiversity that constitutes its resource base. This paper aims to provide a perspective of ethnopharmacology that explicitly extends the range of disciplines it covers so as to embrace food and nutriti...

An account is given of the circumstances that led to the decision to create the International Organization of Plant Biosystematics. The pioneer work of biologists on both sides of the Atlantic in biosystematics and experimental taxonomy is outlined, especially that of the San Francisco Bay group in the U.S.A. and that of J.S.L. Gilmour, G. Turesson...

One of the consequences of global change, especially demographic and climatic, will be a demand for novel plant germplasm of all kinds suited to the new ecoclimatic conditions predicted and plant introduction will assume a new importance. As a consequence, botanic gardens will face an unprecedented opportunity to regain their role as introduction c...

Introduction: the changed context When I contributed the final chapter to Plants and Islands (Bramwell, 1979), my conclusions about the future of island organisms and communities were described by the editor as ‘rightly pessimistic’. Now 30 years later, it is perhaps even more difficult to be optimistic about their future. This is despite the fact...

In light of the growing concern over the potentially devastating impacts on biodiversity and food security of climate change and the massively growing world population, taking action to conserve crop wild relatives (CWR), is no longer an option — it is a priority. Crop wild relatives are species closely related to crops, including their progenitors...

Introduction Current Status Future Directions Literature Cited

In the 1960s Taxon published articles aimed at improving botanical Seed Lists. We compared suggestions made then with the situation in 2007. Sadly the majority of problems raised in the original manuscripts were still evident today. Botanic gardens must improve if this practice is to survive.

In the 1960s Taxon published articles aimed at improving botanical Seed Lists. We compared suggestions made then with the situation in 2007. Sadly the majority of problems raised in the original manuscripts were still evident today. Botanic gardens must improve if this practice is to survive.

In this treatment, the genera Coincya (synonym: Hutera) and Rhynchosinapis are regarded as one genus under the name Coincya which has nomenclatural priority. This study is based on data from morphology, population studies, cytology, ecology and reproductive biology reinforced by breeding experiments.Coincya is a west European genus comprising 14 ta...

These proceedings contain 49 papers presented in the following sections: (i) crop wild relative conservation; (ii) establishing inventories and conservation priorities; (iii) threat and conservation assessment; (iv) genetic erosion and genetic pollution; (v) in situ conservation; (vi) ex situ conservation; (vii) information management; (viii) gene...

Crop wild relatives (CWRs) will gain in importance as changing climates put both traditional and advanced cultivars under increasing stress, leading to a need for plant breeding to produce new varieties able to grow under the new climate regimes. Traditionally, the approach to the conservation of CWRs has been ex situ - the collection and maintenan...

Conservation of crop wild relatives (CWRs) is a complex interdisciplinary process that is being addressed by various national and international initiatives, including two Global Environment Facility projects (‘In situ Conservation of Crop Wild Relatives through Enhanced Information Management and Field Application’ and ‘Design, Testing and Evaluati...

Conservation of crop wild relatives (CWRs) is a complex interdisciplinary process that is being addressed by various national and international initiatives, including two Global Environment Facility projects ('In situ Conservation of Crop Wild Relatives through Enhanced Information Management and Field Application' and 'Design, Testing and Evaluati...

Rocks appeared in Church of Totem, an exhibit by Totem Shriver, at the Linfield Gallery at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon. This color photograph measures 18 inches by 24 inches.

The MEDUSA Network (Identification, Conservation and Use of Wild Plants in the Mediterranean Region) is concerned with gathering information on all the native plants of the Mediterranean region that are useful to man. The objectives of the Network are (a) the identification of native and naturalised plants of the Mediterranean Region, according to...

Nature conservation has changed from an idealistic philosophy to a serious technology(J. Harper, 1992)A review is given of the major conceptual changes that have taken place during the last 50 years in our understanding of the nature of plant conservation and of the principal methodological advances in undertaking conservation assessments and actio...

While only about 1-200 species are used intensively in commercial floriculture (e.g. carnations, chrysanthemums, gerbera, narcissus, orchids, tulips, lilies, roses, pansies and violas, saintpaulias, etc.) and 4-500 as house plants, several thousand species of herbs, shrubs and trees are traded commercially by nurseries and garden centres as ornamen...

The problems of world poverty will not be solved by biotechnology alone, nor by traditional plant breeding or improved agronomic practices but by a combination of all of these and other approaches. We need therefore to adopt a broad approach to our considerations of the links between biodiversity, agrobiodiversity and biotechnology.

In this paper, I address both the wider issues that affect floristic studies today and how they are likely to develop in the future, and the special problems that concern the Mediterranean region in particular. A survey of published floristic studies is given for the Mediterranean and the Middle East, and the desirability of applying electronic web...

In most considerations of plant conservation, scant attention is paid to sampling and conserving the chemical diversity and the underlying genetic diversity found in plant populations. Such diversity is of particular importance when dealing with medicinal and aromatic plants where it is precisely their chemical features, such as alkaloids, essentia...

Like much of the rest of taxonomy, both floristics and monography, two of its principal outputs are being subjected, albeit slowly, to the dramatic changes in concepts and methodology that are affecting other parts of these fields. After a number of false starts, electronic web-based preparation and publication of floristic and taxonomic projects i...