Introduction

The application of in vitro techniques to the propagation of plants at Kew originated from Dr Peter Thompson's work in the 1960s on the formulation of a medium for orchid seed germination. By 1971 the commercial and research potential of plant propagation by aseptic culture was becoming more apparent and the Director of Kew at the time, Professor Heslop-Harrison, determined that it was time to make the techniques available to the living collection. Plans were made for a unit to provide in vitro propagation services to the sections of the Living Collections Division at Kew. The Unit based at Aiton House was set up and opened in 1977, under the present Curator, Mr John Simmons.

The living orchid collection at Kew comprises approximately 3,500 species represented in 375 genera. Each year the resultant seed from a pollination programme is germinated at the Micropropagation Unit. Seed is also given to the Unit by botanists from field collections, from private and commercial orchid growers and from members of the general public. The main function of the Unit is to supply the orchid collection with new species and in many cases provide a back-up of viable seedlings for those species which present special cultivation problems. As much information as possible is recorded about the seed including such details as the site and habitat type where the collection was made. This type of information helps decide the type of culture conditions used.