Botanical Taxonomy and the Naming of Things

Do you find the scientific grouping and naming of plants overwhelming and confusing?

In celebration of National Tree Week join Kew trained ethnobotanist Jennie Martin for a talk on the basics of modern botanical taxonomy and the scientific naming of plants. During our time together will look at folk taxonomy and plants’ names and how all these ‘labels’ carry a wealth of information about the use of plants, their location, their physical characteristics and much more.

The talk will also explore themes such as ‘what’s in a name?’ and question whether by naming things we create more order or more chaos, inclusion or exclusion and how naming things affects our relationship with the natural world.

This workshop is for nature lovers, forest school leaders, bushcraft practitioners and ecologists. It’s for those with some botanical background or none… all welcome!