Fab winning shots of Grass-of-Parnassus and an intrepid aquatic botanist venturing forth from Scotland, in the 2025 BSBI Photo Competition! Oh go on then, the Reedmace from Cambridgeshire isn't bad either... 😉 Still waiting for my 'blurriest thumb' category to be approved by @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Brilliant to see the #GBRedList making a report on CBBC newsround, headlined by the tale of Fen Orchid recovery. The future of our wonderful plants is in their hands - let's try not to drop the baton before we can hand it over! www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/ar... @plantlifeuk.bsky.social

Doesn’t get much better than dangling on a rope counting Tufted Saxifrage rosettes 🥰🤪 Great talk by Gus to close the #ScotBotanistsConf, big thanks to @plantlifeuk.bsky.social for organising the survey, and watch out for Gus’s final report coming soon…

Jersey Cudweed is a recent coloniser in Stirlingshire in central Scotland, marking its movement northwards. Found this year at the Kelpies by Falkirk, as well as in nearby Grangemouth

As usual, @markavery.bsky.social has it right. Things are not getting better for our wild plants The 20-year efforts of #BSBImembers & the botanical community gave us #PlantAtlas2020, which provides the evidence base for much of this #GBRedList assessment. Your #botany records make a difference!

The story of Fen Orchid is a bright spot in the gloomy picture of the new #GBRedList @plantlifeuk.bsky.social show that positive conservation actions can make a difference to the threats plants face, highlighted by @emilybeament.bsky.social in @the-independent.com www.indy100.com/news/beautif...

Huge thanks to @adamvaughan.bsky.social for his excellent article in today's @thetimes.com about #GBRedList. Wild plants inc Common Restharrow, Common Rock-rose & Common Milkwort all now classed as Vulnerable - so no longer common! Download the new Red List: britishandirishbotany.org/index.php/bi...

20 years on from the first #GBRedList for vascular plants - what's changed? 285 taxa have become more threatened. Critically Endangered up from 35 to 55 taxa, Endangered up from 90 to 117 taxa, Vulnerable up from 220 to 261 taxa 😱☠️ Action needed now! Well done @bsbibotany.bsky.social and partners

A lovely gift for Simon Milne, the outgoing Regius Keeper @thebotanics.bsky.social, to thank him for his years of support for botany in Scotland. The full eBook collection of 24 #BSBIHandbooks is a great resource, available to purchase for £160: bsbi.org/publications... @bsbiscotland.bsky.social

A few #Speyside finds for this week’s #Wildflowerhour from a hike up Ben Rinnes near Aberlour. Bonus Ptarmigans too! @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @bsbiscotland.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social #Moray #VC95 @rspbscotland.bsky.social

The Scottish Botanists' Conference is here! 230 botanists are about to descend on @thebotanics.bsky.social to celebrate Scotland's incredible flora, and all I can think about is whether I've ordered enough biscuits... @sarahwatts.bsky.social @naturescot.bsky.social

A good day for tiny plants at Sands of Forvie NNR today: after admiring the small adder's-tongues we went back to count them (22 plants), then noticed allseed (10 plants) which we'd missed a few minutes earlier. First allseed I've seen there after over 30 years of trying! My pinkie for scale.

An unusual one for #wildflowerhour this week - Ribwort Plantain with a new basal rosette developing from within the seedhead! Ok not a flower, but it’s all reproduction isn’t it?! 😁

Here's a nice juxtaposition from below Cairngorm earlier this week: bilberry (left) and bog bilberry (right), demonstrating differences in shape and colour of both leaves and stems.

Book your #ScotBotanistsConf place now! Its going to be a fantastic day @thebotanics.bsky.social, with brilliant talks on restoring montane woodland, Tufted Saxifrage, urban flora and much much more! @sarahwatts.bsky.social @plantlifeuk.bsky.social @botsocscot.bsky.social @naturescot.bsky.social

At £2.60 a month, this offer means that joining BSBI is cheaper than a monthly cup of coffee at <insertvendorhere>. Go on. You know you want to! 😜

Culbin Forest 24/09/2025, is this Serrated Wintergreen (Orthilia secunda), gone over? Can this be confirmed? @bsbiscotland.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social @forestresearchuk.bsky.social @edinburghnats.bsky.social

So excited for this new #BSBIHandbook on Wild Roses! Order now for your #BSBImembers discount - if you're a student you save more than half the cost of a year's membership fee - QED. Maybe don't buy it if your name is Eliza Day though... #wherethewildrosesgrow #kylie #badseeds

This Perennial Sowthistle (Sonchus arvensis) was flowering this week for #wildflowerhour, but far more exciting were the weird purplish bumps on its leaves. These are the galls of a tiny midge species called Cystiphora sonchi - according to NBN just the 5th time it has been recorded in Scotland 🥰

What wonderful news, and what a wonderful plant! Holly Fern is the best fern 😍

Great tip on autumn sundew ID for this tricky species pair - thanks @bsbicymru.bsky.social

What a fruitful display!

This gorgeous variegated Wild Angelica is a beautiful sight! It can still be found flowering in September if you are lucky too. plantatlas2020.org/atlas/2cd4p9...

We invite all #BSBImembers & supporters to take part in our 2025 survey & help inform our future direction! All responders receive a 60% discount code on our eBooks until the end of September & there's a prize draw to win a year's free membership. Start the survey: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Amazing display of Blue Heath (Phyllodoce caerulea) today on the Sow of Atholl, East Perthshire! This nationally rare plant is an irregular flowerer, so to encounter it in all its glory is truly special! #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social @plantlifeuk.bsky.social

A carpet of cow-wheat (Melampyrum pratense) along Loch Lomond — is it just me, or is cow-wheat having a great year? Don’t think I’ve ever seen this much of it in Ireland before 🌼🌿 @bsbibotany.bsky.social @bsbiscotland.bsky.social

Hurrah, it's here at last! Urban Plants by @trevorthebotanist.bsky.social is published today by @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social. If (like Trevor) you're one of our #BSBImembers, you can claim a whopping 25% discount when you order your copy. Find out more: bsbipublicity.blogspot.com/2025/06/urba...

The delicate and beautiful Small-white Orchid, at its only known site in West Perthshire. Sadly threatened and in decline across much of its range. A few days late for #wildflowerhour, but well worth a share! plantatlas2020.org/atlas/2cd4p9...

This looks like a great opportunity with our friends @mininglandscapes.bsky.social Apply before 4th June! @bsbiscotland.bsky.social

Lovely write up of Common Milkwort by @theguardian1.bsky.social! This grassland species has sadly declined across Britain (plantatlas2020.org/atlas/2cd4p9...). In the uplands look out for the less showy Heath Milkwort as well, which prefers more acidic habitats www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Bookings are open for #BSBISummerMeeting 2025 in Melrose, Scotland! Unsure if this event is right for you? So was @mandyforde.bsky.social but she took the plunge last year & here's her story: bsbipublicity.blogspot.com/2025/05/bsbi... This year's programme: www.tickettailor.com/events/botan...

@ukorchids.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social @bsbiscotland.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social A goodly number of these early marsh-orchids in sand dunes at the south end of #Shetland #WildflowerHour #Scotland

Been away from plants for a few weeks, but am happy to report that Whale Sharks are utterly awesome and awe inspiring, not to mention rather large! Back in Scotland now, recording pavement plants at Perth railway station whilst waiting for a train… #sharks #botany #notaplant

A nice selection of early bloom from the Angus Glens over the weekend. @bsbiscotland.bsky.social

Fluffy but incredibly Spiky too… Carline Thistle Seed Heads by the shoreline today 🌊 Scottish Highlands 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 #wildflowers #wildflowerhour #thistles 🌱 @bsbiscotland.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Brambles: they're delicious in pies, jam & crumbles but can you ID them? Do you know your Elegant-petalled Bramble from your Eagle's Talon Bramble? If you live in (or go on holiday to) Scotland, check our website in the morning for something delicious! @bsbiscotland.bsky.social

Do you recognise a few flowers, but find identifying unfamiliar ones a bit overwhelming? This Identifying Wild Flower Families workshop is for you! Sat 7th June, in Perth, with a free field meeting on the 8th to join as well. Book now to avoid disappointment! www.tickettailor.com/events/botan...

Two key messages from #SNSC2025: we have a big problem, but we can do something about it. @scottishgov.bsky.social CSA Mat Williams laying out reality - 47% native plants in decline, 1 in 9 Scottish species threatened with extinction, & @sarahwatts.bsky.social sharing hope for mountain woodlands

Inspiring to meet so many engaged & dedicated student researchers at #SNSC2025 this week, & introduce them to #PlantAtlas2020 - a free online resource covering 3.5K species, their distribution, trends, conservation status & photos! plantatlas2020.org @scotnsconf.bsky.social @naturescot.bsky.social

My colleagues @bsbiscotland.bsky.social & @sarahelizwoods.bsky.social are at the Student Nature Conference @thebotanics.bsky.social today, talking to next generation botanists about what BSBI can offer them & finding out what more we might do. If you're there today, go up & say hi to Matt & Sarah!

Signs of Spring in Speyside this week for #Wildflowerhour including a few #GardenEscapes. #WhiteButterbur seems to be worryingly abundant along the banks of River Spey near Aberlour. @bsbiscotland.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

🌱💛🌼💛🌱 Time for the wild Cowslips to shine! 🌿🌱💛🌱🌿 Scottish Highlands 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 #wildflowers #wildflowerhour #cowslips #FlowerReport🌱 @bsbiscotland.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social

An excellent resource! I know I'll be using it to brush up on my sedge ID for the coming season! @bsbibotany.bsky.social @bsbiireland.bsky.social @bsbiscotland.bsky.social @ulsterwildlife.bsky.social @rspbni.bsky.social @belfastnfc.bsky.social @nationaltrust.bsky.social Please share, thanks!

An update on my local Toothwort population! Flowers opening and pinking up, although the stems haven't got going properly yet so resemblance to a jawbone with teeth on one side is still minimal. #wildflowerhour Find out more about this weird and wonderful plant: plantatlas2020.org/atlas/2cd4p9...

Some #yellowflowers for #wildflowerhour, not particularly wild in this case! Daffodil cultivar ID can be a real challenge, lots of similar ones out there. This is Narcissus ‘Dutch Master’. Native Daffs have paler twisted tepals & darker yellow trumpet - don’t get caught out by the cultivars!

Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) flowering above Aberfoyle, West Perthshire yesterday, for #wildflowerhour Incredibly early for this species, BSBI records suggest there are just two earlier flowering records. It hasn’t even got proper leaves yet!! 🤯 @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Crossed the border into Banffshire today. Hare's-tail cotton grass and purple willow just getting going.

Spring hasn't sprung for me until I see Coltsfoot in flower. Today's the day🙏😊 At Bawsinch & Duddingston Loch @scotwildlife.bsky.social @bsbiscotland.bsky.social

Would welcome some help to identify these withered inflorescences. Found under Scots Pine near Aviemore yesterday. About 10cm tall. Thanks in advance @bsbiscotland.bsky.social @plantlifeuk.bsky.social

Reminder that you only have a few hours left if you want to apply to become our first ever Administration Officer! Details & job pack here: bsbi.org/vacancies/ad... Deadline to apply: midnight tonight!