James Bruce MBE (1908-1992) was a Fellow of the Institute of Horticulture (IoH) and had a distinguished career as a horticultural adviser, advising country estates and prisoner of war camps on vegetable production through the Second World War. Bruce later became the Head of the Department of Horticulture at East of Scotland College, where he was responsible for greatly improving the teaching estate and resources. This lecture recognises his enduring influence to sharing of horticultural knowledge.
Alongside his positions at Oxford University Dr Chris Thorogood is a visiting Professor at the University of the Philippines. His research focuses on the evolution of parasitic and carnivorous plants, taxonomic diversity in biodiversity hotspots around the world, and biomimetics – exploring the potential applications of plants in technology. He is an author and broadcaster, making regular appearances on TV and radio and is also an award winning botanical illustrator and wildlife artist.
Entitled “Pathless forest: the quest to save the world’s largest flowers”, Dr Thorogood’s lecture is the story of his journey to study and protect Rafflesia. A biological enigma, still little understood, which invades vines as a leafless parasite and steals its food from them. He will tell the story of his fieldwork in untrodden rainforests in search of Rafflesia’s ghostly, foul-smelling blooms, more than a metre across.
“Chris has a passion for plants, and we share his ambition to make society see them differently and realise how we, they, and our planet, are all connected. This was clearly apparent from the evidence that Chris provided to the 2023 House of Lords Horticultural Sector Inquiry where he was an excellent advocate for improving education surrounding plants and horticultural skills,” explained the CIH President David Richardson CHort FCIHort
The lecture will take place at 7.30pm on Tuesday, the 3rd of June, online via Zoom, following the Institute’s Annual General Meeting. Registration is free and open to all via the CIH website.
