We can also thank William for the widespread cultivation of two iconic conifers, the Monkey Puzzle and the Giant Redwood, both of which can be found here at Penrhyn.
He collected 3000 seeds of the Monkey Puzzle tree by shooting cones from the branches and then collecting them. A very productive but slightly dangerous way to achieve his aim, it provided him with more than enough seeds to ensure that it became a fashionable status symbol for wealthy Victorians.
John Gould Veitch was another very well regarded plant hunter during this era and was one of the first to visit Japan. The family name is still honoured today by hundreds of plant names, including the Sasa veitchii, a rather invasive bamboo that can be spotted growing next to the Bog Garden.
Walking into the Walled garden via the decorative gate, you can spot a tall palm tree growing just in front of you that takes its name from that given originally by the early New Zealand settlers. Sir Joseph Banks first collected a specimen in 1769 when he was a naturalist on board the Endeavour during Captain James Cook’s first voyage to the Pacific. The Cabbage Tree can grow up to 20 metres in height and was a source of food for the native Maori people. Its fibres were also used for textiles, ropes, fishing lines and even early waterproof clothing, a fantastic find for the people during that time. Today in the UK the cabbage tree is also known as the Torbay Palm.
Banks himself went on to become the President of the Royal Society for 41 years and as an advisor to the King on the development of the Royal Botanic Gardens, he sent botanists around the world to ensure that Kew became the leading botanical garden in the world at that time.