Kew Gardens Library and Archivesさんのイラストまとめ

Today is the spring equinox, which marks Nowruz, Iranian New Year. Officially the end of winter, and a time of renewal, we celebrate with these illustrations of Tulipa, by Sebastian Schedel (1570-1628). The genus was first cultivated in Iran. #Nowruz #tulips #tulipstuesday

It's #PiDay!

You may often see π (pi) associated with sunflowers. However, the spiral patterns of seeds in a sunflower are actually closer to φ(phi), the golden ratio. They produce very different patterns!

Here are some wonderful sunflower illustrations from our collections.

On #InternationalWomensDay, we celebrate the work of Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) who was one of the first Europeans to observe and record the lifecycle of insects and so challenge an earlier belief in their spontaneous generation from inanimate matter. #botany #illustration

In celebration of International Women's Day we include this illustration of Iris afghanica by Mary Grierson who made an invaluable contribution to botany through her dedicated career as a botanical illustrator #botanicalillustration #botany #InternationalWomensDay #marygrierson

Happy Valentine's day from the Kew Gardens Library and Archives team!

The orchid genus Paphiopedilum is named after Paphos in Cyprus, a city sacred to the ancient Greek love goddess Aphrodite, who was born from the sea there.💗

Find out more 👉https://t.co/UKbDwQu9Ro

Cymbidium hookerianum was described by H. Reichenbach in January 1866 and named after Sir Joseph Hooker, the director at RBG Kew.

"An excellent name too, given with the writer's best wishes as a gratulation for the first new year's day of his Kew directorship, to Dr. Hooker."

Mistletoe has been a culturally significant plant for centuries. A symbol of fertility in Pagan mythology, it was associated with peace/love by the Romans and was also important in Norse mythology.

The tradition of kissing under mistletoe was first recorded in 16th C. England.

European holly (Ilex aquifolium) has been associated with Christmas and has carried strong Christian symbolism since medieval times.

Another species of holly that has become well known is Ilex paraguariensis from South America. It is used to make maté and tereré drinks.

The poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) is indigenous to Mexico & Central America.

It was called Cuetlaxochitl by the Aztecs, who cultivated it and used it in traditional medicine.

In Mexico today, it is known as Flor de Nochebuena or 'Christmas Eve flower'.

#ChristmasFlowers

Angraecum sesquipedale is known as the Christmas/Star of Bethlehem orchid as it flowers in December.

Charles Darwin believed that an undiscovered moth with an extraordinarily long proboscis pollinated it.

He would be proved correct 21 years after his death.

#ChristmasFlowers