Botany
The Natural History Museum is one of the world's leading institutions for scientific research and training in the diversity of the natural world. Our superb collections of over 68 million specimens, the world's finest natural history library and over 350 skilled scientific staff and students place the NHM at the forefront of earth and life science research.
Museum scientists discover and interpret the natural relationships of living organisms, fossils, rocks and minerals by naming, describing and classifying this diversity - a science known as systematics. These classifications enable us to make predictions about the properties and geographical distribution of species and to uncover their evolutionary history.
Knowledge of what makes up the natural world and how it changes through space and time is also crucial to our understanding of the impact of human activities on the environment. Our systematic research is applied to medicine, agriculture, industry, forensic science and the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.
A major concern today is the accelerating loss of the Earth's biological diversity as a result of human activities which are changing or eliminating the natural habitats of species. The Museum's research and training contributes directly to tackling these problems, providing the tools and skills needed to discover and conserve biodiversity.
Our scientific research encompasses many different aspects of the natural world, from deep sea fishes and dinosaurs to precious gemstones and rainforest plants.
The Museum's research is organized into six interdisciplinary themes.
The resources which support our research and training activities - skilled staff, the reference collections and other scientific facilities - are organised in departments.
The Science Directorate is responsible for the strategic direction of the Museum's scientific work.
