The Radnor Lily or Early Star of Bethlehem (Gagea Bohemica) is a fabulous little plant. The leaves are small and grass-like and easily go unnoticed. But in mid winter a few of these plants pop up beautiful yellow flowers at their only known British site. #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

One new to me this week! A species that I’ve not come across before, Winter Heliotrope, Petasites pyrenaicus. Sweetly scented but sadly an invasive introduced species but it was interesting to see it whilst visiting my daughter in Leeds. #wildflowerhour

Something new to photograph this week! The first primroses and snowdrops open for #wildflowerhour. Such a delight to see them 🥰

Excited #fungifriends to see my first Scarlet Elfcups of the year and one a perfect little❤️ too! 🥰 #fungi #mushroommonday #fungifriday

Every Sunday evening, #WildFlowerHour brings us all some joy in a world where joy is often in short supply. Huge thanks to all of you who share photos and observations! Thanks also to @botanybeck.bsky.social who keeps the @wildflowerhour.bsky.social show on the road!

It’s a good job I did @bsbibotany.bsky.social #NewYearPlantHunt yesterday as this morning everything was covered in snow! Only 13 species seen in bloom but enough for #thewinter10! A single Cherry Plum flower looking lovely for #wildflowerhour & new to me, Hawthorn flowering alongside its berries! 😮

The first flowers of Green Hellebore are starting to open, part of a thriving population in a wood in deepest east Kent #wildflowerhour

Just a few spotted whilst out on a recce for the upcoming @bsbibotany.bsky.social #NewYearPlantHunt Clockwise from top right Scentless Mayweed, Common Hogweed, Bush Vetch, Common Daisy and Hazel catkins with a pale female flower. #wildflowerhour Will they still be in flower next week? 😀

In recent years, I usually see the odd pink anemone-like female Hazel catkin before Christmas. I was surprised this week though to see so many fully open male catkins & producing lots of pollen too!!!! #wildflowerhour

A lovely walk in sunny Llandudno yesterday & happily I managed #thewinter10 😀 🔁 From top left, Fumitory, Ivy-leaved Toadflax, Sweet Alyssum, cheeky goats! 🐐 Tree Mallow (at Penmaenmawr) Groundsel, Feverfew, Antirrhinum, Daisy & in centre Dandelion & Gorse. #wildflowerhour

Lovely to catch up with these two botanical superstars at yesterday's #BIBConf25! @naturelark.bsky.social (on left) and @botanybeck.bsky.social, the driving force behind @wildflowerhour.bsky.social! Looking good, #wildflowerhour ladies!

After recent frosts, it was slim pickings on my walk today for #wildflowerhour. The brightest pop of colour from Spindle berries. Flowering faithfully for months, there was just one flower on the Ivy-leaved Toadflax & a few Ivy flowers remaining, don’t think they will last for the #NewYearPlantHunt!

Ophrys lucis, your 'orchid of light' on Rhodes. I enjoyed shedding some light myself today. Remember the time a competitor who boasts of his conservation credentials lobbied BSBI to refuse charitable donations from my wildlife tour company? I do. It's an illuminating tale.

We're ready to share hosts of orchids with lots of people today at the brilliant @bsbibotany.bsky.social conference at Edge Hill University. 'Orchid Summer' author @dunnjons.bsky.social & Ghost Orchid finder @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social will be there all day, and would love to see you! #orchids

Discussing the Ghost #Orchid and its current status in the British Isles at the @bsbibotany.bsky.social Botanical Conference 2025, handily been put next to the @mariposanature.bsky.social stand so I can talk about our tours too, where you can come and see Ghost #Orchids in the wild if you want to!

Spent a lovely day visiting my daughter so my #wildflowerhour finds this week are from the Rodley nature reserve in Leeds. Fourteen spotted in flower for this week’s #thewinter10! Also lovely to see Nettle-leaved Bellflower, one which had escaped me until now 😀 Names below ⬇️

It’s always nice #fungifriends to see a species for the first time, so I was super happy to see this lovely Stubble Rosegill, Volvopluteus gloiocephalus today with another interesting little fungus right at its feet! They were like tiny nails!! #MushroomMonday #FungiFriday

At first glance on my walk this afternoon, it didn’t seem like much was in flower but upon closer inspection I soon spotted twelve in bloom for the start of #thewinter10, the #wildflowerhour challenge for the winter months. See ALT for names ☺️

I’ve seen some beautiful grassland fungi for #WildFungiHour in the last few days. 🔁 from top left Mealy Pinkgill, Dark Fieldcap, Parrot Waxcaps, Persistent Waxcaps looking like flowers, Blackening Waxcaps, Poppies for #WildflowerHour & lastly gorgeous Crimson & Scarlet Waxcaps🥰

I don’t know about you but I’ve seen lots of fungi this week, shall we have a #WildFungiHour tomorrow for #WildFlowerHour & celebrate all those wonderful diverse grasslands that ‘flower’ in the autumn too! All the wild blooms that you’ve spotted in the last week are welcome too of course! See ALT ⬇️

The craziest coloured Parrot Waxcaps I’ve ever seen!! Aren’t they amazing!!!! 💚🩵💛🩷🧡 #FungiFriends #MushroomMonday

A lovely day yesterday seeing some of my favourite waxcaps 🥰 It was wonderful to see them again even though some weren’t looking quite their best because of the recent dry weather. Also saw Earthy, Snowy, Slimy, Blackening, Golden & Pale. 17 waxcaps in a day is not bad!! #FungiFriday #MushroomMonday

A lovely pair of parrots for #FungiFriday 🦜🦜 Gliophorus psittacina #FungiFriends

Here’s a strange fungus #fungifriends, the Blushing Rosette, Abortiporus biennis. It has 2 growth forms, it can form an attractive rosette but more commonly exists as an amorphous mass which exudes red-brown liquid. Just look at those guttation droplets!!! 😍

Not seen this one before #FungiFriends, think it’s Green Brittlegill, Russula aeruginia, found beneath Silver Birch. Caps of the mature specimens were very green, younger ones were paler. Stipe chalk white & tapering at base, gills white & crowded. Such a pretty mushroom 💚 #FungiFriday

I think, #fungifriends, this might be the prettiest Blusher, Amanita rubescens, I’ve ever seen!! Isn’t it beautiful! 🥰 #MushroomMonday #FungiFriday

These lovely bramble flowers caught my eye this week for #WildflowerHour 🥰

Perfectly purple, Amethyst Deceivers, Laccaria amethystina are looking glorious in the woods! 💜 #FungiFriends #FungiFriday

Not seen this one before #FungiFriends, found it emerging from a very decomposed log in mature deciduous woodland. It reminded me of a Pluteus species. Could it be Pluteus chrysophlebius? Thank you in advance ☺️ #FungiFriday

WOW #FungiFriends! My favourite Amanita spot didn’t disappoint!!! I nearly lost my mind, a whole FAIRY RING of Fly Agarics, some as big as dinner plates!! 🥰🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🧚 #FungiFriday

How flooofy is this Webcap! I’ve not managed to see a Cortinarius species at this stage before where the web-like universal veil is stretched from the bulbous base to the edge of the cap. Perfectly illustrates why they are named Webcaps!! #FungiFriday #FungiFriends

Woohoo #FungiFriends! It’s definitely autumn when you spot your first Fly Agaric of the year! Isn’t it a beauty! Amanita muscaria, a bit early for #FungiFriday 🍄

Managed to fit in a little foray at lunchtime, so happy that the Rosy Bonnets are up and aren’t those Penny Buns just adorable!!! Absolutely love this time of year! #FungiFriends 🥰🍄‍🟫🍁 #MushroomMonday

Anyone who thinks fungi isn't beautiful needs to take a closer look...🍄👀 What have you seen recently?

Nice to see more #fungi appearing for #MushroomMonday #FungiFriends. 🔁 from top left, lots of Persistent Waxcaps, Pestle Puffball, Redlead Roundhead, a white Poisonpie with fascinating weeping gills and lastly centre, a beautiful blush Brittlegill - possibly The Flirt? 🤔☺️

A few wildflowers spotted for #WildflowerHour whilst out looking for mushrooms! 😃

At last #FungiFriends, my first waxcap of the season! Persistent Waxcap, Hygrocybe acutoconica 💛

I hadn’t seen it for a couple of years so it was extra special in early June to catch up with my #FavouritePlant! The gorgeous Mertensia maritima, commonly named Oysterplant, as the leaves taste like the fruits of the sea! Caithness #Wildflowerhour

For the last weekly challenge, we want to know what was your favourite plant that you’ve spotted from across Britain and Ireland this year? Share your pics for #wildflowerhour this Sunday 8-9pm using the hashtag #favouriteplant and we’ll celebrate it with you! 🥳🌿🌸

Just some teasel #SeedHeads from me this week. My husband came off his motorbike and broke his collarbone so only walks from home for the foreseeable! I was happy to see them though, they are so statuesque!! #WildflowerHour 🤎

Some wildflowers have seed heads that are truly spectacular! The challenge this week is to find some and then share your lovely pics for #WildflowerHour this Sunday 8-9pm using the hashtag #SeedHeads! Any wild or naturalised blooms you find too are of course always welcome!

It’s looking a bit like autumn! Plump, luscious fruits are brightening the hedgerows like vibrant jewels, beautiful, but can you identify them? This week find the fruits of wild plants, snap away & post your lovely pics for #wildflowerhour this Sunday 8-9pm using #fruits 🍒

It was the perfect day to visit Nob End SSSI (it really is called that 😆😂) to see how the Autumn Gentians were getting on. I had such a happy time admiring them, they were looking absolutely stunning in the glorious sunshine!💜 #WildflowerHour #GentianFamily #GentianFriend

Can you find a flowering member of the Gentian family or Gentianaceae, that’s the challenge this week. Post your finds for #WildflowerHour this Sunday 8-9pm using the hashtag #GentianFamily. Happy flower hunting!

Just my favourite Carline Thistles from me this week for the #DaisyFamily challenge. I love these so much especially the tiny purple flowers. I still think they look like spiky jam tarts though!😉😄 #wildflowerhour

There’s a huge patch of Common Fleabane in my local park which is looking glorious! I spent a bit of time staking it out but as it was warm everything was a bit too speedy! I did manage to catch up on this beautiful Painted Lady though 😍 #PollinatorPals #WildflowerHour

We had a proper old-fashioned day out #ByTheSea yesterday with ice cream & wildflowers galore! Clockwise from top right Carline Thistle, Eyebright, Harebell, the first Autumn Ladies Tresses, Sea Holly, Viper’s Bugloss, Ploughman’s Spikenard & a lighthouse!!! #WildflowerHour 🌊🍦

For the #DeadNettleFamily challenge the delightfully fuzzy-headed flowers of Black Horehound, Ballota nigra always look a bit confused to me! The flowers are so worth a closer inspection as they are prettily pencilled with delicate markings 😍 #WildflowerHour

New to me this week but because I’d seen it on #WildflowerHour I knew exactly what it was! 🥰 Duke of Argyll’s Tea Plant, Lycium barbarum casually growing from the walls of Runcorn Castle. Introduced from China and closely related to the Goji Berry, Lycium chinense.

Is there a wildflower more evocative of long summer days than the beautiful Harebell?! Campanula rotundifolia is of course also known as the Scottish Bluebell. The challenge this week is to see if you can find one for #Wildflowerhour! Share your pics this Sunday 8-9pm! 💙