Murder most florid
An exploration of how common plants like brambles can be used to help solve serious crimes such as murder, assault or arson.
Plants too are silent witnesses to crimes. Their presence in many crime scenes can help an investigator identify a suspect or locate a victim. Apparently mundane plants such as brambles and nettles can provide valuable insights into when a crime was committed. Fragments of leaves and seeds embedded in soil on the footwear of a suspect can place them at the scene. An understanding of landscape history and land-use helps an investigator discriminate between a clandestine burial and a mediaeval feature in a woodland. Forensic botany is not new science, plants have played a role in solving major cases for decades, including the infamous murder of aviator Charles Lindbergh’s infant son.
Short Biog
I have been fascinated by plants since I was a small boy. Originally a horticulturist, I later studied botany at university after which I worked as a field botanist for a regional conservation organisation. After 12 years as a botany curator at the Natural History Museum, London I am now a consultant forensic botanist, public speaker and occasional radio and TV ‘personality’. I also retain a strong interest in the history of botany and botanic gardens, invasive non-native species and the flora of North-West Europe.
Dr Mark A. Spencer F.L.S.
Consultant/Forensic Botanist
The Botany Consultancy www.markspencerbotanist.com
Hon. Curator (Plants), Linnean Society of London
London Natural History Society, Vascular Plant Recorder
Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland, MIddlesex Recorder