It’s so hard to choose a #FavouritePlant for #wildflowerhour but this Moonwort standing guard over various other candidates has won my vote.

A bit of a cheat for my #FavouritePlant for #WildflowerHour but I’ve always wanted to see Wood Cow Wheat (Melampyrum nemorosum, or M. polonicum if treated as separate) and was lucky enough to finally see it growing in 🇪🇪 this summer, so beautiful. @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Zitting Cisticola has bred in Britain for the first time, with a pair raising young in Suffolk this summer:

For the #WildflowerHour #GentianFamily challenge, here’s Marsh Gentian Gentiana pneumonanthe which was putting on a great display near Beaulieu in the #NewForest yesterday @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Ruspolia hypocrateriformis #Acanthaceae on gneissic rock outcrops at the Shai Hills Resource Reserve, Ghana, an important site for biodiversity so close to Accra. Visited during the 23rd #AETFAT Congress @aetfat2025.bsky.social

Just back from a wonderful week at the 23rd #AETFAT Congress in Accra, meeting so many passionate botanists working on the African flora and its conservation. Huge thanks to Prof Ameka and the @aetfat2025.bsky.social team for such a great event. Next up it’s Côte d’Ivoire 2028!

📢Now advertised📢 - the B.A. Krukoff Curator of African Botany, a 3-yr fulltime research role at @rbgkew.bsky.social careers.kew.org/vacancy/b-a-... We’re looking for a productive early career taxonomist to join Kew’s Africa team!

In 1880, botanist Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour journeyed to the remote island of Socotra - now Yemen - seeking its unique flora. Our archives preserve his letters, telegraphs & press clippings from the expedition: a window into early plant exploration. Take a look! 👇 🗃 #KewLA

Important updates on World Flora Online!

NEW! You can now access MILLIONS of our dried plant & fungal specimens via our new Data Portal! The official release comes as we continue to digitise our entire collection, some of which were collected by Chares Darwin himself! 🌿 Read more & check it out 🧪 www.kew.org/read-and-wat... #PlantScience

Oh, this looks fun! ❤️❤️

For #WildflowerHour, a few nice species from #StainesMoor today: Bur Chervil, Bulbous Buttercup, Marsh Marigold, Knotted Hedge Parsley, Pepperwort species, probably Field, and Celery-leaved Buttercup. There were also 5 spp of #speedwell but I forgot to photo any of them! @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

...The government has also described nature protections as “red tape” that needs to be cut. Tann said: “Why call that red tape? You wouldn’t call protecting St Paul’s Cathedral red tape. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

An interesting story about the name of the genus Anthospermum in Rubiaceae. doi.org/10.38201/abc...

A cool and blustery morning on #StainesMoor - 3 Garden Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Yellow Wagtail, Cuckoo and this very obliging Hobby the highlights. Plus Roe Deer and Fox. Not much plant-wise, the cattle grazing is quite extensive

Plenty in flower at Ivinghoe Beacon in the Chilterns today - here some yellow offerings: Horseshoe Vetch, Bird’s-foot Trefoil, Kidney Vetch and Field Pansy #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

For #wildflowerhour, Common Gromwell (Lithospermum officinale) near Ivinghoe Beacon, not really a #HighUpPlant but about as high as the Chilterns get! I’ve never seen this species as abundant as in one small area of the hillside here. @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Beyond shameless. Just treating its own readers with absolute contempt.

Seed banking is crucial to safeguarding threatened plants from extinction, but seeds can be surprisingly fussy, as I learned in my latest for @knowablemag.bsky.social ☘️🌱🌳🌼🌺 Featuring @naomibot.bsky.social @rbgkew.bsky.social #plantconservation #botanicalgardens knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...

⚠️📢 African botanists and conservationists 📢 ⚠️- the 23rd #AETFAT African Plants Congress takes place on 3-8 August 2025 in Accra, Ghana. Abstract submission is extended until 1st May. This is an unmissable event if you’re interested in the African flora!! aetfat.ug.edu.gh @aetfat2025.bsky.social

📢 We have a new study out in Taxon, exploring phylogenetic relationships in the tribe Barlerieae of #Acanthaceae using RADseq data, laying the groundwork for a revised classification of this fascinating group of ca. 500 tropical species. Led by Robert Comito. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

One of the most fascinating #woodlandplants, parasitic toothwort (Lathraea squamaria) flowering under hazel, its common host. It has scales instead of leaves, lacks chlorophyll and obtains nutrients from host tree roots. Delighted to find several clumps after weeks of search! #wildflowerhour

I didn’t have much success with the #woodlandplants challenge this week, but here’s a nice flowering Dog’s Mercury (Mercurialis perennis) from the Chilterns chalk #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Pasqueflower (Pulsatilla vulgaris) was in full flower today in the Chilterns - this is an introduced population for BBOWT’s species recovery programme. #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Loddon Lily / Summer Snowflake (Leucojum aestivum) along the Thames near Goring today for #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Rue-leaved Saxifrage (Saxifraga tridatcylites) and Common Whitlowgrass (Draba verna) at Hounslow Railway Station, west London last week - a very late entry for #wildflowerhour ! @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Muscari neglectum Today, Iran Elevation 2300m

We’re really keen to get going with Important Plant Areas in #Ghana, it was great to meet James visiting Kew from the Forestry Research Institute #FORIG and to hear his enthusiasm for getting started on #TIPAs @rbgkew.bsky.social

Ooh, an opportunity to visit the amazing #Herbarium at @thebotanics.bsky.social! So, what's so great about herbaria? And (if you're not based in Edinburgh) how do you find one near you? Find out here: bsbi.org/herbaria Then book a visit to your nearest herbarium! @sandyknapp.bsky.social

Repost for a chance to win 2 passes for The Charlatans, Embrace & The Coral at Castlefield Bowl in Manchester on July 3rd Tickets on sale Friday 10am Pre-sale tomorrow from 10am WINNER PICKED AT RANDOM TOMORROW (Thursday at 9:30am)

When the sand blossoms: #Phylogeny, trait #evolution, & geography of speciation in #Linanthus New #AJB research by @ioana-anghel.bsky.social, Lydia Smith, Isaac Lichter-Marck & Felipe Zapata doi.org/10.1002/ajb2... #botany #plantscience #desert

Spurge laurel (Daphne laureola) plentiful at the foot of Box Hill today, a little late for #wildflowerhour. Also saw 30+ Hawfinch at Juniper Top, a modest count compared to the impressive numbers being seen at nearby Mickleham.

I lost my job at the National Science Foundation yesterday, along with 167 of my colleagues, including some dear friends. This was the best job I've ever had, and I thought it would be my last. The PI community has been sympathetic and supportive, without exception. I will miss working for you.

Ranunculus elymaiticus Ranunculaceae Endemic Fars Province, Iran Elevation 3100m April 2024 The smallest Iranian ranunculus with a length of less than 5 cm. This species only grows in high elevations. #Ranunculaceae #ranunculus #bulbs #botany #Ecology #geophyte

Rachel Reeves: ‘so we are reducing the environmental requirements placed on developers when they pay into a nature restoration fund that we have created so they can focus on getting things built – and stop worrying about the bats and the newts’. Hmm, can’t see this ending well for nature.

Keir Starmer previously congratulated climate campaigners after Heathrow expansion was ruled illegal, saying "there is no more important challenge than the climate emergency" Now his government says expansion is "badly needed"

“It’s a huge greenwashing exercise by the aviation industry. It’s magical thinking that they will be able to do this.” Good piece on the myth of 'sustainable aviation fuel', which Keir Starmer's Government is insisting will somehow make expanding Heathrow a climate friendly option

"A third runway won't stop us from meeting our climate targets....”

Winter gull flock on the sea front at Reykjavík on a snowy morning - mainly Iceland Gull but 5 species in all including quite a few Glaucous. A small flock of Eider in the background too.

Crowberry (Empetrum nigrum #Ericaceae) is abundant on the lava flows of Iceland, such as hardy plant and the red tones in winter look great against the snow

Aurora borealis in Iceland, 4th January, magical!

#KewBulletin isn’t on here yet sadly, but they’re still doing nice posts on Twitter/X

A true alpine plant that only grows on limestone cliffs. Viola Cf. pachyrrhiza Violaceae Fereydonshar, Iran Elevation: 3000m Height less than 5 cm #viola #violacea #alpine #rockgarden

Phylogenomics of the large clade of flowering plants called Magnoliids. This clade includes species like Magnolia, avocado, peper, nutmeg and of course #Annonaceae!

Photos & bar codes can’t do this! Herbarium collections can be used in ways the collectors never imagined. This is why natural history collections are still relevant in the 21st century. #botany 🌾🧪

From BBC News, "South Africa's succulent plants under threat from poachers in the Karoo." Did you know your houseplants could be contributing to biodiversity loss? 🌍🧪🌱 www.bbc.com/news/article...

Just published in Kew Bulletin - a new species and a new combination in Stenandriopsis #Acanthaceae from the biodiversity hotspot of #Madagascar - link.springer.com/article/10.1... (Open Access)

NSW herbarium digitised collection is now available online www.botanicgardens.org.au/our-science/...

For the first time, the RSPB has launched an interactive map showing the whereabouts of its satellite-tagged Hen Harriers: