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!

Ethereal Toothwort poking through the leaf litter on the banks of the Allan Water this week (baby-Toothwort I guess!) It lacks chlorophyll and parasitizes Hazel, Ash, Wych Elm etc. Sends up short flower-bearing shoots (2nd pic), but also produces underground flowers that can self-fertilise! 🤯

Anyone know what’s responsible for this purple blotching on this Cowberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea)? My 1st thought was a fungus, but now I’m wondering if it might be a leaf miner moth like Fomoria weaveri? Help please! #moths #leafminers #microfungi

Opposite-leaved Golden Saxifrage for #wildflowerhour. It’s subtle charms were first described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus, the ‘father of modern taxonomy’, and it gently brightens damp, shaded areas of woodland ground flora in spring 🌱🥰

Find out what overlooked botanical gem I came across at the Falls of Leny this week! 😁 #botany #fabferns

Have you ever been in an Herbarium? I wandered into the RBGE Herbarium @thebotanics.bsky.social, opened a random folder, and discovered this Variable Plantain specimen found nr Galashiels in 1913 by Ida Hayward - native to Australia, a 1st for Britain, undetected til now. What awaits your visit?!

Check this job out if you have good GIS skills - nice team, important work supporting biological recording and conservation in Scotland 🌱🦉🐞🦇

Just when I thought I was out, winter pulls me back in! #winter #snowdrops #thegodfather

Have you seen this amazing newsletter produced by the West Central Scotland Botany Network? Packed with ID & recording tips, & showcasing great people and places. Local #botany at its best! Their 2025 field meetings programme is coming soon... @bsbibotany.bsky.social bsbi.org/west-central...

Super opportunity to hear the important findings of the #DiversiTree project, 'Diversifying the tree species composition of our woodlands to increase resilience.' Wed 5 Mar. 1pm Thanks to hosts @cieem.bsky.social Book ➡️https://buff.ly/40C82mY @hutton.ac.uk @bangoruniversity.bsky.social

Today we went on an adventure to try and find a grove of Giant Redwoods we see poking out above the woodland on top of Gillies Hill on our trips to town. Success! These trees are thought to have been planted in the 1860s, have been threatened due to quarry expansion, but are still standing…

Spent an interesting afternoon at NTS Crathes Castle with our local recording group looking at conifers. Focused on those we might find 'in the wild' around Aberdeen, but also admiring the species we'll only encounter when planted. Just look at the way these Hiba branches are clothed by leaves!

Do you have a couple of spare weeks this March? Fancy getting some hands-on experience removing invasive plants on an uninhabited Scottish island? Check out this volunteering opportunity from @rspbscotland.bsky.social #ScotlandsRainforest savingscotlandsrainforest.org.uk/volunteer/re...

Surprised to see there are cowberries left uneaten this far through winter! #wildflowerhour #cairngorms @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @cairngormsnews.bsky.social

Are you spotting Bittercresses & other small white Brassicas in bloom? Want to find out which is which? Check out this handy cribsheet: bsbi.org/download/249... It was commissioned by the ever-helpful @botanybeck.bsky.social for #WildFlowerHour & was created by the fabulous @naturelark.bsky.social!

Crocuses now in full swing 😁 Spring Crocus (C. neapolitanus), Yellow Crocus (C. x luteus) and Sieber's Crocus (C. sieberi) from yesterday's outing. #botany

There's always a wow moment when arriving on the west coast of Scotland as there's usually lots of Lobaria pulmonaria and Ricasolia virens to be found on trees, rocks and walls. #LichenGBI

Has Spring sprung? Our frogs seem to think so! #frogspawn 🐸

A special Snowdrop for not-so- #wildflowerhour! This is Galanthus plicatus ‘Wendy’s Gold’, a cultivar that grows well in gardens inc mine. Note the folded (‘plicate’) leaves that help tell it from normal Snowdrop (G. nivalis). It 1st arose at Wandlebury Ring, an Iron Age hill fort near Cambridge!

🌾🌱🌍🍄🌳🐝Botanical University Challenge #BUC2025 asks the student teams about many aspects of plants. e. g. Name this plant! Pick from the list. See more in Round 2 starting 14:00 Wednesday 19 February - TOMORROW - streamed on YouTube and recorded to view later. @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Moschatel looked surprisingly close to flowering today at NTS Crathes Castle, Banchory. Nearby, spurge laurel, an introduction from much further south, had opened already!

Want to help us develop botanical skills across Northern Ireland & grow participation in the National Plant Monitoring Scheme? Just 1 day left to apply for this great post: bsbi.org/vacancies/tr... Deadline: midnight, 16 February.

You can keep your red roses, let’s have Snowdrops for #ValentinesDay! 😍❤️🥰 BSBI membership a very close second (but I’ve got that covered)!

Moon trees! As part of the 1971 Apollo 14 mission, seeds of Loblolly Pine, Sycamore, Sweetgum, Redwood & Douglas Fir orbited the moon! On their return they were planted out, a list of known locations is here: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lu... Only 1 in Europe, and that seems to be a switcheroo 😉

Beautiful take on a familiar flower. ‘Weeds’ are indeed wonderful 😍 @dandelionappre1.bsky.social