Major Floras

I have over 30 years’ experience in floristics, plant systematics, botanical nomenclature and biodiversity informatics. My work is centred on the Sino-Himalayan region, especially Nepal, where I collaborate with international and in-country partners and local communities to generate high quality data and knowledge products to support plant conservation and the sustainable use of plant resources.

Professor Caroline Lehmann, Taxonomy and Macroecology Lead

I am jointly appointed between the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and University of Edinburgh. At RBGE, I lead the Taxonomy and Macroecology section. At the University of Edinburgh, I am Professor and Personal Chair in Plant ecology and biogeography, teaching on the undergraduate Geography programme in the School of GeoSciences. Additionally, I hold an adjunct position with the School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa.

I have been working on the Flora of Nepal for more than 15 years, and my day-to-day job is to write floristic accounts and manage illustrations for the Flora. 

Hannah Atkins is a researcher in the Tropical Diversity section interested in the taxonomy, evolution and biogeography of the SE Asian herbaceous flora.  She is currently working on Cyrtandra, the largest genus in the Gesneriaceae comprising over 800 species of rainforest herbs and shrubs.

I am a bryologist specialising in phylogenetics, taxonomy and biodiversity. Much of my research is focussed on quantifying, understanding and promoting Scotland's globally important bryophyte flora.

Since 2009 I have worked closely with the science

I am a PhD researcher at the University of Edinburgh

I am the Postgraduate Co-ordinator for the MSc in Biodiversity and Taxonomy of Plants and a tropical botanist specialising in the Neotropical flora, in particular I am interested in the savanna and dry forests of Central and South America.

I am a taxonomist working on the plants of central

Dr Mark Hughes, Taxonomy Research Leader (Southeast Asia)

I have a background in botany - gaining an MSc and

My expertise is Solanaceae taxonomy

I am a Peruvian botanist and researcher with MSc

I specialise in the use of taxonomic data in answering

I'm a taxonomist using mainly the study of morphology within a framework of molecular systematics to describe plants in the Zingiberaceae, a family of over 50 genera and over 1,200 species including cardamom, ginger and turmeric. This work contributes to an inventory of the world's species which is far from complete. New species are being discovered in the Zingiberaceae every year and increasing numbers are threatened with extinction owing to habitat disturbance.

My expertise is in plant taxonomy and systematics, with a background in plant ecology.

My research has aimed to address one of the fundamental questions of tropical biology – how and when did the huge species numbers in the tropics arise? It is grounded in fundamental, descriptive taxonomic, inventory and phylogenetic research, which provides the foundation to address evolutionary and biogeographic questions of relevance to conservation in a changing world.

For more details visit http://toby-pennington.squarespace.com/ (opens in a new window)

Axel is a Research Associate in the Tropical Diversity

I am a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh and the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh. My research focuses on the ecology, biogeography, and evolutionary history of high rainfall savannas.

Sibbal Fellow researching Begonia taxonomy in the Western Ghats 

Taxonomy and evolution of ferns and lycophytes

Peter Wilkie is a senior researcher in the Tropical

I am a botanist and mycologist, with an evolutionary perspective on diversity in lichens. Because I believe that people and the planet will all benefit from a better understanding of one another, I am also passionate about enthusing people at all levels about lichens.