Tony Kirkham

Tony Kirkham

Live Science Contributor

Tony Kirkham worked at Kew for over 43 years and was the Head of the Arboretum at the Royal Botanic Gardens until his retirement in 2021. A world-renowned tree expert, he is the author of several books on plant history including, as co-author, Wilson’s China: A Century On.

Latest articles by Tony Kirkham

composite image showing the manchineel tree, the woolemi pine and the coco de mer.

3 remarkable trees: A living fossil, a deadly canopy, and the world's biggest seeds that were once mounted in gold by royals

By Christina Harrison, Tony Kirkham published

"Sailors believed they grew underwater at the bottom of the Indian Ocean, and it was thought that male trees uprooted themselves on stormy nights and walked to find female trees, embracing them to pollinate their large flowers."

Plants