Historically, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) was a major sponsor of global plant-hunting expeditions
. Today, its role has shifted toward modern conservation and the management of one of the world's most extensive records of cultivated plant diversity.
Historical Global Expeditions
In the 19th century, the Society (then the Horticultural Society of London) commissioned famous plant collectors to travel worldwide to find plants suitable for British cultivation.
Key Collectors: Famous figures included David Douglas (North America), Robert Fortune (China), and John Potts (China and India).
Impact: These missions introduced iconic garden plants like camellias, azaleas, chrysanthemums, and the Douglas fir to Europe.
Research & Digitization: The RHS Plant Collector Archive has digitised the journals, letters, and field notes of these early collectors to provide a fuller historical record.
Modern Role in Conservation & Curation
The RHS now focuses on documenting and preserving the diversity of plants already in cultivation rather than global exploration.
RHS Herbarium: Located at RHS Garden Wisley, it is the largest herbarium in the UK dedicated to ornamental plants, housing over 90,000 specimens.
Targeted Collecting: Current "plant collectors" for the RHS are often staff or volunteers who gather specimens from RHS gardens and trials to ensure new cultivars are officially recorded.
National Plant Collections: The RHS serves as a custodian for 31 National Plant Collections and works with the charity Plant Heritage to conserve rare garden plants.
Technological Integration: In 2025, the RHS is using AI and deep learning to analyze herbarium images to speed up plant identification and better understand how garden plants can solve environmental challenges like pollution capture.
Key Scientific Functions
Nomenclatural Standards: The RHS Herbarium acts as a repository for "Standard Specimens," the exact physical plant used to define a specific cultivar's name.
RHS Colour Chart: Collectors use a standardized chart to record the exact colors of live plants before they are dried and pressed, ensuring accurate descriptions of cultivars.
Genetic Preservation: By collecting and seed-banking specimens, the RHS helps prevent the loss of genetic diversity caused by changing fashions or climate change.
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), in its earlier form as the Horticultural Society, sponsored several plant collectors in the 19th century to seek new plants for British gardens and scientific study
. The RHS Plant Collector Archive details the journeys of 12 such individuals.
Notable collectors sponsored by the RHS and their collection regions included John Potts in China and India, George Don across West Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas, and John Damper Parks in China. David Douglas collected in North America, while James McRae explored Hawaii and South America. Karl Theodor Hartweg collected extensively in the Americas, and Robert Fortune focused on China. Other collectors sponsored or associated with the RHS in the 19th century included John Forbes, John Jeffrey, Matteo Botteri, John Weir, and Thomas Cooper. Later, the RHS also provided part-sponsorship for collectors like George Forrest, who worked in southwestern China. The RHS's Digital Collections provide further details on these expeditions and the plants gathered RHS Digital Collections.