Thank you for exploring the Botanic Garden with our group of plant loving chemists.

21. Thank you and goodbye 

One small part of the plant kingdom makes a different type of pigment to all the rest.

20. Pigments from plants 

How plants manage to photosynthesise in extreme environments.

19. Plants in extreme environments 

Why chlorophyll and hence plants, looks green.

18. Why are plants green? 

How chemistry can change the colour of dye molecules from plants.

17. Ancient pigments 

Hear about natures natural nitrogen fixers.

16. Nitrogen fixation 

Why nitrogen is important to plants and the communities of microorganisms living in the soil.

15. Nitrogen uptake by plants 

Why the Katsura tree smells of caramel and how analytical techniques have solved the problem of what is responsible for the smell.

14. The caramel tree 

Many modern medicines are derived from plants.

13. New medicines from plants 

The notorious history of healing molecules. Many molecules from plants can be used as medicines but are also toxic if the dose is too large.

12. Healing molecules or poisonous plants? 

A chemistry tour of the Oxford University Botanic Garden.

Botanic Garden Chemistry Audio Tour

Robert Robinson

Sir Robert Robinson used the Botanic Garden in his research investigating the structures of alkaloids derived from plants.

04. Robert Robinson, a revolutionary chemist 

Hear what the word organic means to a chemist.

03. Take care with the word organic 

How plants use energy from the sun to make food from carbon dioxide and water.

05. Energy from the sun 

The photosynthetic machinery inside plants is explained.

11. The machine inside plants 

Ginger contains a cocktail of different molecules. The different molecules in dried, cooked and fresh ginger lead to different flavours.

07. The many tastes of ginger 

Pigments from plants are different colours depending on the chemical environment they are in.

10. Colourful vegetables 

How chillis and a euphorbia are helping to produce new painkillers.

09. The hottest plant in the world 

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