Meet the botanist explorers on a mission to preserve plant diversity
Britain has a long history of plant hunting and exploration and, since global travel began, our gardens have benefitted exponentially from plants that have been introduced from different parts of the world. Bleddyn and Sue Wynn-Jones are modern-day plant hunters who have spent the past 30 years travelling in search of new plants to bring into cultivation here in the UK. They are known particularly for their valuable work in certain plant groups such as Arisaema, Cardiandra, Hydrangea, Disporum, Polygonatum and Schefflera. Their primary method of collecting and propagating is by seed, and they sell plants from their nursery, Crûg Farm Plants in North Wales, which is widely admired by gardeners and designers.
Since 1991, Bleddyn and Sue have visited 53 countries to search for plants and to collect seed; trekking to the furthest reaches of the Himalayas, climbing mountains in Vietnam and conquering uncharted botanical territory in South America. Plant hunting is a challenging business nowadays. Since the Convention on Biological Diversity was introduced in 1992, protocols for collecting wild plant material have become much stricter. Furthermore, the Nagoya Protocol of 2014 recognised each country’s ownership of genetic resources and thus the requirement to share any commercial gains that arose from exported plant material.
‘We have to get permits from every country that we go to, so it can be an expensive business,’ says Bleddyn. ‘For example, on our most recent trip to Vietnam, a permit to collect on Fansipan – the country’s highest mountain – cost more than $1,000 a week.’ There are also strict rules concerning plant quarantining. ‘Our quarantine unit is inspected regularly,’ he adds. ‘The plants won’t see the light of day for a full year after they come into the UK.’ After this period, the plants can become mother plants to propagate from. These are then rigorously trialled out at the nursery – a process that can sometimes take a decade or more.
On top of all this, there are the stresses and strains of travelling overseas, sometimes in dangerous territory. Overshadowing each visit are stories of deaths and kidnappings, bribery and exploitation, but this has never deterred Bleddyn and Sue. An estimated 20 per cent of the world’s flowering plants remain unrecorded, so discovering new plants is what drives them – but it is a two-way thing. ‘Our collecting isn’t just about acquiring new plants – it’s about conservation, too,’ explains Bleddyn. ‘We work with each country to contribute to their herbariums or seed banks, advise on legislation and raise awareness of the local flora. Often, we are collecting plants that have never been recorded.’
Taiwan has become one of the most fruitful collecting grounds for the couple, who have made a total of eight trips there, thanks to a long-standing friendship with Aleck Yang at the Museum of Natural Science. ‘The diversity of plantlife there is stupendous – about 10 times the diversity of the natural flora of the UK,’ says Bleddyn. ‘Just looking at the hydrangeas alone, we discovered about six species that were not in cultivation in Britain.’ Despite being labelled as sub-tropical, the climate of Taiwan seems to be comparable with the UK’s moisture-laden climate, yielding many plants that also grow well here.
One of the plant groups the couple has become known for is the Cardiandra family, a herbaceous hydrangea relative found in China, Japan and Taiwan. Bleddyn’s description of discovering the rare Taiwanese C. formosana in 1993 gives a glimpse into the ups and downs of their plant-hunting life. ‘After many a fruitless search, we finally tracked it down to Xitou NTU Experimental Forest. The Cardiandras were to be found growing on steep banks and walls, appearing like moths in the gloomy shade. Finding this plant demanded all the energy we could muster. On our last morning in the field, our final attempt was rewarded by success – a high note to finish on.’
This species of Cardiandra is all but extinct in Taiwan, as a result of several major earthquakes there since 1999, so it is all the more significant that Bleddyn and Sue now have a polytunnel full of healthy specimens.
With two out of five of the world’s plant species at risk of extinction due to climate change, plant hunters such as Bleddyn and Sue should be celebrated – but the fact is, they are a dying breed. They were lucky enough to obtain an ongoing government licence to import plant material into the UK back in the early Nineties. However, it is almost impossible for individuals to get such a licence today. ‘It feels as if plant hunting is actively discouraged nowadays,’ says Bleddyn.
Although the pandemic has put a stop to their trips for the past two years, they certainly do not feel this is the end of the road for their adventures. ‘We have more to do in Taiwan, Vietnam and Colombia,’ says Bleddyn. ‘Sue found a fabulous red hydrangea in Colombia – twice we have sent back seeds and twice we have lost the plant. So that is top of our list.’ They have also been working with the Komarov Botanical Institute in St Petersburg on new aspidistra species and the closely related Ruscus genus. So, against the odds, Bleddyn and Sue will continue with their pioneering work for as long as they can. Devoting their life to the research of these fascinating plants and doing their best to preserve plant diversity for future generations.
Crûg Farm Plants: crug-farm.co.uk
