The debate over the repatriation of materials held in British collections has expanded beyond the Parthenon marbles and the Benin bronzes to the millions of plant specimens kept at Kew Gardens.
A botanist in South Africa has suggested that some of the specimens in Kew’s herbarium could be repatriated to their countries of origin as an alternative to the controversial planned move to Reading.
Professor Muthama Muasya from the University of Cape Town, whose research has led to the discovery of more than 100 plant species new to science, suggested that if Kew was feeling “the weight of custodianship” of its specimens, then they could be returned to their country of origin or shared. He said that if Kew “offloaded” some of the specimens, the