Note -All images on this page credit - Dr Chris Thorogood, except the Fennel image which is public domain.





15th December 2017.





1. Thanks for answering some questions, firstly can you tell us a bit about yourself? What made you interested in plants, what is your education and current job?





I have been fascinated by plants for a long as I can remember. I spent my childhood growing bizarre and unusual things such as carnivorous and parasitic plants. I have carried this passion with me ever since and I’ve been fortunate enough to see some incredible plants in their natural habitats. I loved science at school, so studying biology, and botany in particular, was a must for me. In 2005 I won a scholarship to carry out my PhD research on parasitic plants. This was great because it gave me the freedom to explore the biology of a group of plants I have had a lifelong passion for. I chose to investigate how parasitic plants called broomrapes (Orobanche spp.) form new species due to their preferences for particular host plants (the plants they extract food from), using molecular, DNA-based techniques in the lab. I am currently the Head of Science and Public Engagement at the University of Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum. You can find out more about the research I do on evolutionary genetics in plants here: www.plants.ox.ac.uk/people/chris-thorogood





2. Can you tell us a bit about the Oxford Botanic Garden and Harcourt Arboretum, what are the botanical highlights and are they open to the public?





I am very fortunate to work where I do. Oxford Botanic Garden in the centre of Oxford, and its sister site, Harcourt Arboretum a few miles away, are the jewels in the crown of the University of Oxford. Together they house one of the most diverse plant collections (for their size) in the world, with over 4,000 species and many more cultivars. Highlights include the unusually diverse hardy euphorbia and carnivorous plant collections at the Garden, and the rhododendrons at the Arboretum. Both the Garden and Arboretum are open to the public, so have a look at the website to see what’s on: www.botanic-garden.ox.ac.uk





3. You have written a Field Guide to the wild flowers of the western Mediterranean, can you tell us a bit about plants from this part of the world. If someone was going on holiday to the Med and are interested in plants, where would you recommend as the best place to visit? Lavender is the best known British garden plant that is native to the Mediterranean region, do you have any suggestions for anyone looking to plant a less common Mediterranean plant in their garden that can survive our climate?





I’m never happier than when I’m romping around the Mediterranean in the spring! Many people only visit the Mediterranean in the hot, dry summer months but in March and April the hillsides are just ablaze with a riot of yellows purples and oranges as the spring flowers burst into bloom after the winter rains. Anywhere in the Mediterranean is worth visiting in spring but I have a particular fondness for the Algarve (which is on the Atlantic but has a Mediterranean climate), where I taught field botany to undergraduates for many years. Mediterranean islands such as Crete, Sicily and Mallorca are all very rich in endemics (species found nowhere else), and are well worth visiting too. Finally southeast Spain, for example the Cabo de Gata, is a great place to go for a walking holiday in the cooler months of March and April, as this area is home to many plants with North African affinities which cannot be found elsewhere in Europe.





An unusual Mediterranean plant that I think is well worth growing is the giant fennel (Ferula communis), which seems to be quite at home in our climate. Unlike its edible cousin, this monster produces towering, tree-like stems of yellow flowers which are very dramatic. They require patience though: I grew mine from seed and they took seven years to flower – they’re worth the wait though!