Pleased to come across Strawberry Clover Trifolium fragiferum, in flower, transitional and in fruit. The Walk, Lower Woods, Gloucestershire. For @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social @gloswildlife.bsky.social

No bells for @wildflowerhour.bsky.social but lovely blue of Sea Holly at Sandwich Bay with attendant Broomrape now crispy brown Orobanche minor var. psuedoamethystea @bsbibotany.bsky.social @kentwildlife.bsky.social

Seaside Specials from Seasalter Kent. Hogs Fennel, Salsify, Dittander and Frosted Orache.

For @wildflowerhour.bsky.social All from Purbeck recently. Yellow form of Stinking Iris, Wild Parsnip with attendant Red Soldier Beetles and Ivy Broomrape, all looking good and a pleasure to see. @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Viburnum opulus, Guelder-rose, what a beauty! In hedgerows now. @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

A good stand of pink-flowered Bugle, Ajuga replans, along with the normal blue for comparison, in open woodland N.Wilts. @bsbibotany.bsky.social

A selection of Green-winged Orchids, Orchis morio, showing colour variation from two sites in North Wiltshire recently. @bsbibotany.bsky.social @ukorchids.bsky.social

The ethereal seed heads of Coltsfoot, Tussilago farfara a couple of weeks ago. #firstseedheads

Not at all high up I fear for @wildflowerhour.bsky.social but lovely nonetheless at Clattinger Meadows this morning. Snake’s Head Fritillary, Fritillaria meleagris most specimens come and gone though. @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Got off to a good start here in Swanage for a few days. This is in Townsend Reserve, Chalk Milkwort, Polygala calcarea, Early Spider Orchid, Ophrys sphegodes, with Daisy, Bellis perennial. @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Not exactly a tree for #treeflowers growing over a wayside wall for @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social but totally irresistible.

Quercus and Fraxinus out together for #treeflowers @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social but the Ash has the edge, and we need a soak, after all this fine weather! @jeremyjem.bsky.social

Went to see the small colony of Moschatel, Adoxa moschatellina, near home this week. Often known as Townhall Clock, now is the time to look for this charming flower and it helps to look for the distinctive leaves first. Scarce in N.Wilts. @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Wow! The first bluebell for 2025! March 26th is just a tad early for our local woods in North Wiltshire. @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

And for @wildflowerhour.bsky.social this week a beautifully deep red edged flower of Stinking Hellebore, Helleborus foetidus in local woodland, North Wilts, @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Green Hellebore Helleborus viridis, the scarcer of the two British species, in North Wilts woodland today. Thanks to @thejemster.bsky.social for showing me.

Just emerging here in Charente Maritime, the delightful wild Grape Hyacinth, Muscari neglecting. Quite tiny and dark, soon they will be everywhere in grassy places, roadsides, unmown lawns, vineyards etc. @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social @naturelark.bsky.social

We've been the best of friends for almost a decade now, and he deservedly had a large following over on the bird site as a red-hot orchid hunter and all-round top botanist, but it seems not many folk here on here are aware of and following @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social. Shame that, as he's a top bloke!

Probably a garden escape in Marignac, Charente Maritime. Flowers like Wild Pansy V. Tricolour, leaves like Mountain Pansy, V. Lutea. So pretty whatever the case.

Nature Notes from Charente Maritime, SW France. European Tree Frog, Hyla arborea in the garden. A first for me. @arc-trust.bsky.social

Back in Southwest France for a visit. Great to see Pulmonaria longifolia Narrow-leaved Lungwort coming in to flower. Likes shady banks and woodland edges. Rare in UK in a few places in the south.

Signs of spring on my walk yesterday at Streatley (W. Berks) - dog's mercury in flower and green hellebores emerging.

Clearing out a garden shed today I disturbed this beautiful Herald moth. Was able to put it back to complete its hibernation safely. North Wilts. @britishnatureguide.bsky.social

A sneak preview of the advance copy of the new Field Guide to the wild flowers of the Canary Islands, published by Kew. My coauthors and I cover more than 2000 species, and we hope to inspire people with one of the world's most iconic island floras 🌞

In the final hour of 2024 some happy memories of botanising in the Cevennes in June, orchids everyhere. Best wishes to one and all for 2025.

Q: Is there anything more beautiful than Pixie cup lichen... A: Pixie cup lichen with hoar frost! If you like #lichen, you might enjoy following @scotfot.bsky.social

Garefowl or Great Auk, extinct 1844. Chromolithograph by John Gerard Keulemans.

Hello Bluesky, it's my first post, here's some Little Auks ! 🙂 #birding #northumberland #beadnell

So thankful to see blue skies and sunshine after ten days of gloomy grey cloud. Squeezed in a lovely autumnal walk in the local ancient woodland at lunchtime. #woodland #autumn

Purton Ships’ Graveyard on the banks of the River Severn, where 86 abandoned ships were deliberately beached from 1909 to 1960s to halt the erosion of the river bank. The 'Harriett' Kennet barge (L) is a scheduled ancient monument. A fabulous site to visit. #Gloucestershire #History

Weasel's Snout Misopates orontium in Hampshire yesterday, at the edge of a maize field.

Hips, haws, nuts and berries! It’s starting to look a bit autumnal out there! So this week’s challenge is #fruits! Share your finds of wild & naturalised fruits for #wildflowerhour this Sunday 8-9pm. Happy fruit hunting! ☺️🍒

On this day in 2017, scientists from BTO & RSPBS published a paper in Bird Study that focused attention on the plight of Curlew. wadertales.wordpress.com/2017/08/31/c... There's been lots of conservation action since then and much research. Keep up the good work! 🎂7⃣ #ornithology

Nancy Jackson: probs of Yorkshire origin, pre-1875, much cultivated in the North Riding in the 19th century, & still to be found in venerable northern orchards. Right: 'A buxom wench, firm fleshed, strong-shouldered, and smooth-skinned.' Brigit Gillespie, botanical artist. The Northern Pomona.

Flower of the Town, a Yorkshire apple. It arose before 1831 in the Backhouse’s Holgate Nursery in York; it can still be found in old farm orchards in Yorkshire – the brilliance of colour can be seen from several fields away. Right: illustration by Brigit Gillespie for the Northern Pomona.

Fillingham Pippin has an intriguing back story. Mr Fillingham, an East Yorkshire carter, raised it from material collected in South America by his brother. Legend has it that this was the apple that Darwin found on Chiloe in 1835. Illustration by Brigit Gillespie for The Northern Pomona.

Ribston Pippin. Raising a tree from a pip, & having it turn out to be one of the finest hardy apples, popular for over 300 years, must be a joy. From Ribston Hall, N. Yorkshire. Grown throughout the world, it has many notable descendants, inc. Sunset & Fiesta. Illo Brigit Gillespie.

A lovely example of a Sea Holly #ByTheSea at Holkham. And a bonus bumblebee. #WildflowerHour

Hopefully I can join in the #ByTheSea challenge a couple of weeks late when I’m on holiday, but for now there’s a sea of golden Autumn hawkbit in #Ely. #WildflowerHour

White bryony. #WildflowerHour

Whilst on the Campanula theme here is a nice specimen of Clustered Bellflower at Ranmoor Common nr Dorking. A superb flora at this reserve at its best right now. @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Late for #Wildflowerhour Campanula trachelium, Nettle-leaved Bellflower also known as Bats-in-the-Belfry. One plant well past its best but still lovely and one mown earlier in the summer but now doing well. N. Wilts woods.

#ArtDD2024 Great Horned Owl Quick splash of paint to try to capture something of this lovely owl. From a 📷 by @notoriouslig.bsky.social with thanks. @saocousins.bsky.social @holnicotenh.bsky.social @andykaitken.bsky.social @stevecobbin.bsky.social

Now, just when Hazel catkins are fully open, look for the tiny deep red female flowers. Quite hard to find till you get your eye in. A wonderful speck of colour. Spring’s promise.

#ArtDD2024 Lapwing Or peewit, you choose. I've done this view before but wanted to try it again. @saocousins.bsky.social @holnicotenh.bsky.social @andykaitken.bsky.social @stevecobbin.bsky.social 🦉

Auricularia in the sunshine this morning, sometimes known as Tree Ears or Wood Ears. What can they hear? Growing on Elder.

Flammulina velutipes, Velvet Shank, Winter Mushroom; cap moist and sticky when fresh, or when wet - that's true. 🍄📷

Sometimes this happens in my garden in summer Antheridium manicatum, Wool Carder Bee, carding wool from Lychnis coronaria, Rose Campion

In the latest issue of IBIS Camelthorn and blackthorn trees provide important resources for Southern Pied Babblers (Turdoides bicolor) in the Kalahari | onlinelibrary.wiley.... Kim Hunt et al | #ornithology

Hi Bluesky, looking forward to being back on a happy, birdy, wildlife type feed again!