Rebecca is a professional botanist currently completing her PhD in plant sciences. Her fascination for plants developed during her early childhood, which led her to choose a career in botanical horticulture.
Upon finishing her apprenticeship in horticulture at the Flora and Botanic Garden Cologne, Germany she moved to the UK to join the world-renowned Kew Diploma in Horticulture course at Kew Gardens in London. After successfully completing the 3-year course she became a permanent member of staff in the tropical nursery at Kew, where she worked for six years, heading up both the Temperate Plants and Orchid units.
Her fascination with the naming and classifying of plants brought her to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh where she obtained her MSc in Biodiversity and Taxonomy of Plants. She has been employed as a researcher and education staff at the botanic garden in Edinburgh ever since completing her MSc in 2018. She is currently working on her PhD at the University of Edinburgh, focusing on the evolution of leaves in passionflower plants. Her love for passionflowers has brought her to many tropical countries including Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Mexico, southern USA and Australia.
Rebecca has a sweet spot for European terrestrial orchid species, an interest that began while growing up in Germany. As a youth she would go orchid hunting on the weekends, and after moving to the UK she continued to explore the orchid species of the British Isles. Now she regularly travels to the Mediterranean basin in the spring to explore the vast diversity of orchids in this exceptionally species-rich region. Other than orchid hunting, in her spare time Rebecca loves going hiking in the Scottish highlands to explore the local flora and fauna.
