Lesser Spearwort, Rannunculus flammula. Hairless. Stems can be purplish. Undivided leaves. Hydathodes visible on weakly toothed leaf margin. Basal leaves have long furrowed stalks 3-7 parallel main veins with raised midrib on under surface.

Botanical University Challenge got underway this month with 32 teams. First 2 rounds now available to view so why not test your all round botanical knowledge. Big Meadow Search has contributed questions this year so I hope you get those ones correct 😉 m.youtube.com/@BotanicalUn...

Pignut, Conopodium majus. Hairless. Basal leaves 2-3 pinnate, up to 15cm, arise singly from tuber and wither quite quickly.

Spear Thistle, Cirsium vulgare. Leaves dull greyish green, lobed, up to 30cm. Hairy underneath. Leaf margins have spines with swollen yellow base

For #wildflowerhour it’s Red Dead-nettle aka purple archangel, bumble-bee flower or bad man’s posies from me

Wild Carrot, Daucus carota. Roughly hairy with solid, ridged stem. Leaves 2-3 pinnate. Bristle-tipped leaflets. Leaf edges usually antrorsely (forward pointing) scabrid or ciliate (fringed with hairs). Channelled petiole. Sparse latex

For ‘Celandine Day’ here are contrasting examples of leaf colour variation on adjacent Lesser Celandine plants

Today is ‘Celandine Day’ so in true ‘Blue Peter’ style, here is one I made earlier

Great Willowherb, Epilobium hirsutum. Leaves in the basal rosette are reflexed towards the apex. Two prominent hydathodes and brown scale at leaf apex. Leaves rolled when young. Hairs on both leaf surfaces up to 1.5mm long. Leaves are minutely serrate

Glaucous Sedge, Carex flacca. Leaves up to 50cm long and 1.5-4mm wide, tapering to fine point. Leaves dull green above, glaucous below. Ligule 2-3mm long, rounded and with notched apex

A BSBI webinar on Orchids of Ireland on Feb 24th bsbi.org/take-part/ev...

Green-ribbed Sedge, Carex binervis. Tufted. Leaves matt green above and glossy light green with dark veins below. Leaves up to 8mm wide and up to 30cm long. Leaves turn orange-brown and often overwinter. Rounded ligule

Green Alkanet, Pentaglottis sempervirens. Coarsely hairy, perennial. Pointed, oval leaves up to 16cm long. Upper leaf surface has hairs some with white swollen base. Petiole up to 10cm long, winged and channelled.

Whorled Caraway, Trocdaris verticillata. 15-30 threadlike leaflets, increasing in size along rachis, appears whorled. Stems striate and often purplish at base. Hairless. Mild celery smell. Distribution map taken from BSBI Plant Atlas 2020.

Common Ragwort, Jacobaea vulgaris. Basal rosette: leaves up to 15cm, pinnatifid with larger terminal lobe and up to 6 pairs of smaller oblong lobes. Petiole often purple

It’s my first 2026 sighting of a Forget-me-not for this week’s #wildflowerhour Have to confess I’m not sure which one as not got my book with me and every season it’s like starting anew 🫣

Bristly Oxtongue, Helminthotheca echioides. Basal leaves up to 25x4cm, variably toothed and strap-shaped. Some leaf hairs are stiff and simple with a swollen white base others whilst others are forked and hooked. White latex

Bee Orchid, Ophrys apifera. Three or four curled, unspotted, greyish-green basal leaves. Usually less than 10cm long. Leaves have a short apical point

Soft Rush, Juncus effusus (left images). Densely tufted. Bright green, glossy smooth stem with continuous pith. Hard rush, Juncus inflexus (right images). Densely tufted, grey-green. Stems stiff, dull, glaucous with obvious ridges. Pith interrupted.

Something to get your grey matter ticking over: what seedling do you think this is? Answer to follow

Mouse-ear-hawkweed, Pilosella officinarum. Forms patches via stolons that can be up to 30cm. Basal rosette of dark green leaves bearing long hairs above and white, felt-like underside. Young leaves rolled. Leaves up to 6cm long. Unbranched, leafless stems.

Heath Bedstraw, Galium saxatile. Mat forming. Smooth stem, many branched. Leaves <8mm wide, 6-8 whorled, mucronate tip, hairless with 3-7 forward pointing prickles each side.

All set up and ready for the Grassland Conservation Conference at The National Botanic Garden of Wales

Reflexed Stonecrop, Petrosedum rupestre. Succulent. Leaves reflexed especially on the lower stem. Leaves up to 2cm long with rounded cross-section and pointed. First recorded in the wild in 1597 (BSBI Plant Atlas)

The latest issue of #BritishandIrishBotany is out! It's our Open Access, online scientific journal. 6 papers inc @bsbiscience.bsky.social on garden escapes, a new hybrid grass, @floodplainmead.bsky.social on Scotland's wet grasslands, a hawkweed, drift seeds & sea bindweed: bsbi.org/about/news/l...

Check out our new paper on the newly defined oceanic wet grasslands of Scotland in the latest issue of British and Irish Botany 👀👀 @bsbibotany.bsky.social @naturescot.bsky.social britishandirishbotany.org/index.php/bi...

Hairy Tare, Ervilia hirsuta. Trailing. Leaves have 4-10 pairs of strap-shaped leaflets up to 13mm long. Leaflet tips are truncated to notched. Tendrils usually branched. Stems 4-angled and have narrow wings. Stipules are antler-shaped

For #wildflowerhour it’s a Primrose with bonus thrips (I think!)

Oak Beauty, Biston strataria. Larval food plants include oaks, Hazel, Alder, elms, sallows and Aspen. Flies between February and April

Stinking Hellebore, Helleborus foetidus. Leaves dark bluish-green above and paler below with serrated margin. Midrib raised below. Petiole up to 10cm and often channelled. Stems with leaf scars

Alexanders, Smyrnium olusatrum (2 of 2). Commonly infected by the rust fungus, Puccinia smyrnii

Alexanders, Smyrnium olusatrum (1 of 2). Celery- scented. Hairless. Furrowed stem. Shiny dark green leaves. 1-3 pairs of leaflets with stalks. Toothed leaf margin with hydathodes at tips of teeth. Leaf stem might have some hairs (cilia) at its base. White latex

Pellitory-of-the-wall, Parietaria judaica. Red, round, branched stems. Hairy. Alternate, untoothed leaves. Channelled petiole

Marsh Ragwort, Jacobaea aquatica . Basal rosette. Leaves up to 15cm and have large, oval terminal lobe. Often purplish below. Margins wavy and weakly crenate (rounded teeth). Petiole purplish at base

All set up at the Bionet ‘Marvellous Meadows’ conference. Keen to hear what is happening in North Wales and to spread the word about Big Meadow Search. Thanks Andrew for representing us

Our Biological Flora on Wood Crane's-bill is out in @journalofecology.bsky.social. besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... A team effort w/ @ruthsk.bsky.social @sandravarga.bsky.social @spp-rich.bsky.social @duncanwestbury.bsky.social, irina Tatarenko & artist Lucy Hulmes on pen and ink.

Common Chickweed, Stellaria media. Stem round with line of hairs on alternate sides. Lower leaves stalked, upper leaves stalkless. Leaves apiculate (with a short point that isn’t usually an extension of midrib).

Woodruff, Galium odoratum. Patch forming. Unbranched, 4-angled stems. 6-8 leaves per whorl with 25-60 forward pointing prickles per side. Stems erect, ending in a flat-topped leaf whorl. Leaves have hay or vanilla scent when crushed.

Winter Heliotrope, Petasites pyrenaicus. Can form extensive patches. Circular leaves up to 20cm with fine teeth. Leaf stalk reddish with glandular hairs. Purple hydathodes. Young leaves have white cobweb-like hairs.

The Botanical Society of Scotland’s Plant of the week is Tutsan botsoc.scot/2026/02/01/h...

For #wildflowerhour this week it’s Lesser Celandine, Ficaria verna. Local names include smallwort, brighteye, pilewort, cheesecups and cream and butter-

Here is a plant ID webinar from Herefordshire Meadows Group m.youtube.com/watch?v=zEMR...

Here we go, month 3 of daily vegetative ID posts……. Sweet Violet, Viola odorata. Often forms patches due to creeping runners. Leaves in rosette (none on flowering stems) with cordate bases and 20-25 teeth per side. Petiole with hairs pointing downwards (retrorse).

Greater Celandine, Chelidonium majus. Sparsely hairy stem with abundant orange latex. Leaves hairy, up to 35cm with 4-7 pairs of leaflets. Terminal lobe can be 3-lobed

Now available on youtube! #FungiFriends #WildPlantDisease m.youtube.com/watch?v=RKek...

Red Valerian, Centranthus ruber. Hairless. Opposite leaves. Leaves shiny green or glaucous above, paler below. Sunken white hydathodes along leaf margins. Midrib raised below. Petiole up to 5cm

The Botanical Society of Scotland’s Plant of the Week: Broad-leaved Helleborine botsoc.scot/2026/01/25/e...

It’s coming up to the completion of 2 month’s worth of daily vegetative ID posts. The question is what to do come 1st February 🤔 Do I try another month of vegetative ID posts? Do I try some more botanical words? Or do I put my feet up!

Water Figwort, Scrophularia auriculata. Basal leaves 6-12cm usually with blunt tip and blunt teeth. 25-32 teeth, each with a hydathode, per side. Leaves often have 1 or 2 small lobes at the base of the leaf. Winged petiole.

Lords-and-Ladies, Arum maculatum. Basal Lvs only, hairless, often black blotched, with hastate (spearhead-shaped with basal lobes spreading out) or sagittate (arrow-shaped with backward pointing lobes) base. Lvs rolled when young. Petiole to 20cm channelled & with sheathing base