During the directorship of Sir Joseph
Hooker from 1865 to 1885 the collections
were reorganised to show relationships
among the various genera and families
of plants by placing related groups in
close juxtaposition, thereby enhancing
the educational value of the collection
and permitting easy botanic comparison.
Ultimately this corresponded with the
Bentham & Hooker classification system
as described in Genera Plantarum and
first researched and implemented
at Kew Gardens, becoming a widely
accepted model for the arrangement of
botanic collections in many countries.
The Bentham & Hooker classification
was based upon the grouping of plants
from primitive to advanced displayed in
sequence, and was closely related to the
emerging evolutionary theories of Charles
Darwin. With exceptions, the Bentham &
Hooker classification system is still largely
in place in the Gardens’ plantings at Kew.
Recently Kew is breaking away from
the traditional classification system
of Bentham & Hooker and has been
adopting a system based on molecular
systematics. Advances in DNA sequencing
(especially within the last 15 years) have
provided a completely new avenue of
systematic research and have changed
the way we view classification. A modern
synthesis of molecular studies is ongoing,
yet a consensus is beginning to emerge.
Combined work under an umbrella group
known as the Angiosperm Phylogeny
Group (APG) has produced a widely
accepted evolutionary tree. Ongoing
redevelopment of the Order Beds at Kew
represents this most recent system of plant
classification