Coffee News for Jan 16,2010

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Botanists discover over 250 new plant species in Kew's 250th year : 7 new wild coffee species found
Giant rainforest trees, rare and lovely orchids, impressive palms, minute fungi, wild coffees and a traditional aquatic plant are among more than 250 new plant and fungi species discovered and described by botanists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in this, the botanical organisation's 250th anniversary year. The new species come from a wide-range of engaging locations including Brazil, Cameroon, East Africa, Madagascar, Borneo and New Guinea. Nearly a 3rd are said to be in peril of extinction.

"As part of our respiring Planet Programme we have a commitment to inflating the discovery and classification of plant diversity, and finding solutions for their conservation.

The coffee species that might save your daily cup from climate change 7 wild coffee species, mostly native to the mountains of northwards Madagascar, feature on the list.

This takes the total number of new coffee species discovered by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and its partners over the last a decade to just about 30, including some bizarre and wonderful species. Coffea labatii and Coffea pterocarpa have winged fruits, while Coffea namorokensis and Coffea bissetiae are clearly hairy, and Coffea ambongensis and Coffea boinensis have the largest seeds of any coffee species : their 'coffee beans' are far more than twice the dimensions of those of Coffea arabica.

"We're still finding new species of coffee, including those without delay related to crop plants," asserts the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew's coffee expert Dr Aaron Davis. "Coffee is the world's second most traded commodity, after oil, with at least 25 million farming families conditional upon its production for their livelihoods, yet we still have much to find out about its wild relations. We guess that seventy percent of wild coffee species are in peril of extinction due to habitat loss and climate change.

"Conserving the genetic diversity within this genus has implications for the sustainability of our daily cup, particularly as coffee plantations are highly subject to climate change. Those concerned in the coffee trade may help to future-proof the industry by working with Kew and its partners to make reserves to conserve coffee genetic resources."
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a famous scientific organisation, internationally respected for its outstanding living collection of plants and world-class Herbarium as well as its scientific expertise in plant diversity, conservation and sustainable development in the UK and around the planet. Kew Gardens is a major global visitor attraction. Its landscaped 132 hectares and RBG Kew's country estate, Wakehurst Place, attract nearly 2,000,000 visitors each year. Kew was made a Unesco World Heritage Site in July 2003 and celebrates its 250th anniversary in 2009. Wakehurst Place is home to Kew's Millennium Seed Bank, the largest wild plant seed bank in the world. RBG Kew and its partners have picked up and preserved seed from 10 percent of the Earth's wild ripening plant species ( c.30, 000 species ). The aim is to conserve 25% by 2020 and funds are being actively sought to continue this vital work. Support the work of Kew's Millennium Seed Bank partnership by getting involved with the 'Adopt a Seed, Save a Species' campaign www.kew.org / adoptaseed.
Source : Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

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