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A green planet, the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew.

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Kew's botanic gardens are in southwest London.

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There are six greenhouses on a 120 hectare site,

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which is home to one of the world's most extraordinary collections of plants.

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The gardens at Kew began life in 1751 as a royal garden.

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A huge variety of plant species has been collected from around the world since.

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The greenhouses here house some of the world's rarest plant species.

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This specimen of cycad is called Encephalothos autensteini.

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It was brought back to Britain from South Africa

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and has been growing here for more than 220 years.

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It is said to be the world's oldest potted plant.

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There are more than 40,000 different species of plant here

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from the Arctic right down to South Africa and Southeast Asia.

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The British Empire stretched across the globe

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and expert plant collectors, or plant hunters, explored every corner.

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Francis Masson was the first plant hunter.

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As a plant hunter, he explored Africa

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and discovered species never previously seen in Britain, such as the geranium.

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He also brought back this species, a bird-of-paradise flower.

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Plant collection by plant hunters became a key part of the national interest.

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Calisia, for example, is a plant originally from the Andes.

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With its discovery, the British were able to produce quinine,

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a drug to treat malaria.

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Kew's role has changed with the times.

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Technology is now a part of everyday operations.

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Great care is taken to cultivate rare and precious plant species

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by recreating the plant's original habitat in each greenhouse.

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Many species are increasingly under threat of extinction.

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The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew play an active role

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in preserving the planet's rapidly disappearing plant heritage.