In episode four of Hidden Treasures, host Conor O'Keeffe is joined by curator John Hunnex for a trip through the Museum's British and Irish Herbarium, which is one of the most comprehensive collections of plants from anywhere in the world. Take an exclusive peek at some of the oldest specimens in the collection, discover how important scientific stories can surround even the most unassuming of specimens, and find out why some scientists are puzzled by dandelions. See if you can guess what the mystery specimen is by the end of the video! Hidden Treasures will return for Season 2 in April 2023. Subscribe to our channel so you don’t miss it! Head to our playlist to catch up on past episodes of Hidden Treasures:    • Hidden Treasures: the behind-the-scen...   0:00 Intro 1:29 Conor meets the curator of the British and Irish herbarium, John Hunnex 1:54 Malva sylvestris collected in Deptford, 1775 2:28 How to preserve specimens for 500 years 3:06 Theologians, botany and sub-fossils 6:06 What are those mushrooms? 6:57 What's significant about Robert Brown's handwriting? 7:48 Did pollen help Einstein to prove that particles existed? 9:41 Adoxa moschatellina, the moschatel 10:26 How does the Museum store specimens from different climates? 11:30 Significant female botanists and the first ever book that used photographs 12:15 What is this mystery specimen? 13:19 Are there any specimens of extinct plants? 15:00 A rare plant endemic to Britain 17:18 A plant named after Sir David Attenborough 18:50 The common dandelion 22:19 Revealing the mystery specimen 25:27 What are the difficulties in preserving older specimens? ---------------- The Natural History Museum in London is home to more than 80 million objects, including meteorites, dinosaur bones and a giant squid. Our channel brings the Museum to you, from what goes on behind the scenes to surprising science and stories from our scientists. Subscribe to our channel for the latest films and live broadcasts about the natural world null Browse our shop: https://www.nhmshop.co.uk/ Website: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/ Twitter: http://twitter.com/NHM_London Facebook: http://fb.com/naturalhistorymuseum Instagram: http://instagram.com/natural_history_museum