Dr Sebastian Hatt

I am a plant taxonomist and Kew Research Fellow in the Asia team.

My work focuses on New Guinea, the island with the world’s richest flora, yet significant taxonomic dark spot. A significant component of the island’s flora remains poorly described, particularly in megadiverse, endemic-rich genera such as Cyrtandra (Gesneriaceae) or Syzygium (Myrtaceae). An accurate and workable taxonomic classification of plants in New Guinea is absolutely critical for effective biodiversity research and conservation.

With rapidly escalating habitat destruction and climate change, there is an urgent need to fill this knowledge gap. However, taxonomy is a time-consuming process, and global taxonomic capacity is limited in the face of such a vast challenge. I aim to identify plant groups and areas within New Guinea where taxonomic work is needed most, and combine traditional taxonomic approaches with a range of modern techniques such as sequencing and machine-learning to overcome this impediment. I am keen to ensure my work has a direct impact on conservation and capacity building in New Guinea.

I also co-ordinate or am involved in other projects focused on African plants. These include writing a Flora of the Central Namib Desert, Namibia, and a Checklist of vascular plants of Ghana.

I also have continuing interest in parasitic and mycoheterotrophic plants – their evolution, taxonomy and conservation.

BA (Hons): Biological Sciences, Univ. Oxford (Jesus College), 2020
MSc: Plant and Fungal Taxonomy, Diversity and Conservation, RBG Kew & QMUL, 2021
PhD, RBG Kew & Univ. Manchester, 2025

Tropical Important Plant Areas (TIPAs) in Indonesian New Guinea