The Museum of Natural History, usually the preserve of gigantic dinosaurs, is now hosting in its upper gallery a display of much more delicate objects. There are 84 of them, the work of the distinguished botanical illustrator Rosemary Wise, recording travels in four continents.

Her special skill lies in combining meticulous accuracy (these are as much scientific records as artistic products) with speed and an affectionate eye. Though the paintings on show (and on sale) are the work of the last decade, she has in fact drawn more than 12,000 species over 42 years. Some of this remarkable achievement can be seen in the small display cases, beginning with her Tools of the Trade - a humblingly unpretentious assemblage of pencils, an eraser, and a tiny hand-held palette alongside the fine sable brushes: no magic ingredient, just talent.

Here we can see some of the books she has illustrated: Trees of Peru (14 colour plates, 917 line drawings) , Woody Plants of West Africa (2,000 drawings), and her own Fragile Eden on the unique plants of the Seychelles. Her post as botanical illustrator for Oxford University in the Plant Sciences Department involves her in its many projects including that on African Acacias (more than 170 species). There are photographs here too, though she never uses these in her drawings - which are all, she tells me, life-size.

A Churchill Fellowship took her to the Seychelles, a Christiansen Fellowship to Papua New Guinea, and in 1994 she received the Jill Smythies Award from the Linnean Society, of which she is a Fellow. Six paintings commemorate her visit to Linnaeus's country estate at Hammarby showing plants sown by the great botanist himself in the 1760s.

Though many paintings record exotic locations in South America, Malaysia and Kenya, others are nearer home - literally so in the clematis, iris, poppies and anemones from her own garden, or the finely-placed branch of ripening blackberries, the homely violet, pussy willow and crane's bill. The Botanic Garden contributes a study of Carnivorous Plants. Cherries, raspberries and garlic (not together) are all observed with equal care. Most are separate studies, but there are attractive groups or bouquets of spring or autumn flowers, or her Kaleidoscope of Colour, while her Chestnut (pictured) chronicles the life-cycle of the horse-chestnut.

One group is sure to catch attention - paintings of pheasant feathers, of wasps (not life-size), and a baby bat with those great vulnerable eyes common to all tiny creatures, be they bats, chimps or humans.

The show runs till June 29, 10am - 5pm daily.