There are a few places left on this BSBI Scottish Outreach event this Sunday: 'Conifers Identification - a guided walk', at Balloch Castle Country Park, north of Dumbarton. Should be a great day, if a little nippy! @bsbiscotland.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social

#BSBINews Winter issue is out! #BSBImembers: head over to the members-only area of our website to view your digital copy (or, if you opted for print membership, check your letterbox!) Not joined us yet? Discover what's in this issue & how to access a sampler + 1 free article bsbi.org/about/news/l...

This spectacular drift of snowdrops in a strip of woodland in #Clackmannanshire brought welcome sparkle to a dreich winter’s day #wildflowerhour @bsbiscotland.bsky.social

Take on the #100Plants2026 challenge, and open your eyes to the amazing world of plants on your doorstep!

🌿 Test yourself! How well do you know the UK’s endemic plants — species found nowhere else on Earth? Can you name all four in the photo? Want to learn more? Join our Endemics webinar with @bsbicountries.bsky.social on 5th May 2026: 🔗 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1977171014... @bsbibotany.bsky.social

A rather late #TheWinter10 (only nine Im afraid) for #WildFlowerHour tonight. All photographed in south central Scotland this week.

Today @bsbibotany.bsky.social is delighted to be at the launch of the 2025 RACE report. We're proud to join 137 environmental NGOs submitting diversity data (8, like us, submitting data for the 1st time). Find out more & download the report: www.race-report.uk/report/diver...

A selection of flowers from this week for #wildflowehour - Winter Aconite, Dog’s Mercury, Green Field-speedwell and Yellow Crocus dotted around Stirling

I’ve managed to resist up until now, but… here’s a Snowdrop! This is the double-flowered form of the ‘normal’ Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis), planted on the slopes under Stirling Castle and slowly naturalising. One for not-quite #wildflowerhour

*Decline in botanical education threatens response to climate action and food security* Early, hands-on encounters with plants, inspiring mentors, and emotional connections to nature are among the strongest drivers behind choosing a plant-related path. www.ucd.ie/newsandopini...

Calling all students - are you planning to collect plant-related data? Would some money help? Of course it would! Better not miss the deadline for a #BSBIPlantStudyGrant - 31st Jan! bsbi.org/learn/grants...

Today I #amwriting about lusus forms of #orchids. They're compellingly weird things, where the script has gone wrong - either radically, like this bizarre Greater Butterfly Orchid; or more subtly, like this fused Lesser Butterfly Orchid.

'Wild Roses of Great Britain and Ireland', the latest title in our series of #BSBIHandbooks, was published in print in November. We have now published the eBook version: bsbi.org/learn/public... Check out this interview with the authors, Gareth Knass & the late Roger Maskew: bsbi.org/blog/2025/10...

Exquisite female flower of Hazel, red styles just peeping out of its bud; and male flowers on catkins ready to release their pollen. Not the first female flower I've seen this winter on this tree, that was on 17 Nov, an all-time early flowering. @bsbiscotland.bsky.social @scotwildlife.bsky.social

Just 2 days left for teams of students on #PlantSciences degree programmes in Britain & Ireland to register for #BUC2026! First round of Botanical University Challenge is on 11 Feb online so save that date. @bsbibotany.bsky.social is proud to be a @bucbotany.bsky.social supporter again this year!

Two nice urban flowers for #wildflowerhour today: Cut-leaved Dead-nettle, with its 'cut' lobed leaves, and Henbit Dead-nettle, with rounded, unstalked upper leaves. Both in flower for #TheWinter10, if you squint hard enough! Both locally scarce, and new finds for this bit of industrial Falkirk.

One of my all time favourite habitats - grotty industrial estate gravel! #UrbanPlants Now is a great time to test your skills on basal rosettes - then revisit later in the year to see how wrong you were! What do we have here then?! See what you come up with! My best guesses below... 😉

A few botanical highlights from Broadwood Loch, Cumbernauld today:

Rough horsetail in a flush near Kintallen, Argyll, today. In addition to having green stems, others were drained of chlorophyll so coloured red (belated autumn colours) or even a skeletal white.

🦋🌿Hiring 12 x Botanists or Entomologists for 2026 field surveys in England! 4-month, full-time roles from late April to early September. Field sites in Yorkshire, Devon, Warwickshire, Kent/Sussex, Lincolnshire/Cambridge, Essex/Suffolk. Apply now: ceh.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/CEH_Ca... 🧪

Huge thanks to 3,652 of you amazing #CitizenScientists who went out hunting for #NewYearPlantHunt! You sent us >25K records of an astonishing 663 different wildflower spp. blooming across Britain & Ireland Headlines in our infographic 👇 More details on our 2026 Results page: bsbi.org/take-part/ac...

If you missed my talk on alien plants and have an hour to kill before #TheTraitors (haha!), it’s now available here www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCdC.... Enjoy! @bsbibotany.bsky.social

A record 206 #NewYearPlantHunt surveys have been submitted for Scotland so far! Well done and thank you to everyone who took part 🥰 See all the survey results here, including most frequently recorded species: nyph.bsbi.org/results.php?... Blog rounding up Scotland surveys: bsbi.org/blog/2026/01...

Just a few spaces left on this Winter Twigs ID workshop on Sat 17th January on the shores of Loch Lomond! **Book Now!** www.tickettailor.com/events/botan... @plantlifeuk.bsky.social @scotwildlife.bsky.social @cieem.bsky.social

Online talk: Looking forward to exploring some of my favourite urban plants with @bsbibotany.bsky.social at 7.30 on Wednesday night. Expect new discoveries, lots of aliens, heat islands and how pubs shape the urban flora. If you’d like to join in please book here bsbi.org/take-part/ev...

Hashtags galore today with #TheWinter10 for #wildflowerhour during a quick #NewYearPlantHunt in Grangemouth! Nice Sticky Groundsel & Red Dead-nettle in flower (pics), but standouts were Austrian Chamomile & Henbit Dead-nettle. Small child demanding ice cream (in subzero temps) a distraction 😂 🤦

As part of a #NewYearPlantHunt side quest, I dropped in on the Rosy Cress population on the King's Park wall outside Stirling - a popular garden plant but rare in a wild setting. Sure enough, it was in flower - and I managed to add a couple more species before dark, including several by torchlight!

Our Stirling #NewYearPlantHunt returned a whopping 53 species in flower! Way beyond expectations given ice, snow & sub-zero temps. Stopping clock for coffee essential Highlights included Selfheal, Small Toadflax, 3 Snowdrop species & Hare's-foot Clover, & the enthusiasm of so many fellow botanists!

Nice article in The Independent about our collaboration with @metoffice.gov.uk re their climate data + our #NewYearPlantHunt data: www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/new... Great to work with Grahame Madge at MetOffice & huge thanks to the fab @pennyend.bsky.social! www.independent.co.uk/climate-chan...

Day 3 of #NewYearPlantHunt: >1300 surveys, >17,000 records, 597 species recorded! In tonight's round-up: @commonbynature.bsky.social reports from NE England, @bramblebotanist.bsky.social braves the snow & a shout-out for #NYPH co-founders Tim Rich & @sarahwhild.bsky.social! bsbi.org/blog/2026/01...

93 #NewYearPlantHunt surveys recorded from Scotland so far, and another two days to go! Well done everyone on their efforts - the conditions have not been kind for botany and botanists across much of the country so far!

Lovely to chat just now to Nick Eardley on BBC Radio 5 Live about #NewYearPlantHunt on back of our work with @metoffice.gov.uk Plants are blooming out of synch with the wildlife that depend on them: how worried should we be? Catch our chat again here, starts at 17.40: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Biggest surprise of our local #NewYearPlantHunt was this half coconut - climate change gone mad, or a leftover from a fat ball bird feeder? (The drilled hole was a giveaway…) Despite snow, sub-zero temps and a week of cold leading up to it, we still managed 20 species in flower!

First day of #NewYearPlantHunt @bsbibotany.bsky.social @bsbiscotland.bsky.social @edinburghnats.bsky.social. IDs in Alt text.

We're delighted that our friends @the-wildlifetrusts.bsky.social have made #NewYearPlantHunt a #12DaysWild activity! Find out how to take part & learn more about how our wild plants are responding to a changing climate & what this means for all our wildlife: www.wildlifetrusts.org/blog/guest/j...

Wondering whether to bother with the #NewYearPlantHunt? This is why! Evidencing the impacts of climate change on our plants, environment and our everyday. Climate change can seem nebulous and far away - this demonstrates its effects in your street… www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Day One of #NewYearPlantHunt draws to a close with >450 surveys submitted so far, >6000 records, >400 different species in bloom. Plant-lovers of all ages out hunting for flowers. In today's blogpost, @jo-the-botanist.bsky.social reports on the #Norfolk Flora Group's hunt: bsbi.org/blog/2026/01...

Extraordinary beauty this morning in Braemar. The Morrone birkwood is high enough to retain the freezing fog longer into the day. And then, even after the fog clears and the hillsides warm up, the Braemar frost hollow keeps the woodland cold.

Greater tussock-sedge forming strange colemnular structures by the shore on Seil Island. One even had a rowan tree growing out of it.

Not sure whether to take part in #NewYearPlantHunt? Worrying that your #WildFlowerID skills won't be up to scratch? No problem: just use one of our spotter sheets for your area: bsbi.org/take-part/ac... Download & print it, or find all the spotter sheet plants on a ticklist on the #BSBIRecordingApp!

My #PlantoftheYear for 2025 is the fabulous Tufted Saxifrage, one of our rarest arctic-alpines. I helped survey the known sites for this plant in Scotland for @plantlifeuk.bsky.social - this beauty was in a grotty gully just under the summit of Ben Nevis 😍 Merry Christmas everyone! #wildflowerhour

Day 24 of my botanical #adventcalendar celebrates the people that have helped make my 2025 such a special year! From beginners to renowned experts, botanists aged 5 to 85, I'm so grateful to have shared my passion with so many inspiring people. Tune in tomorrow to find out my Plant of the Year!

Day 23 of my botanical #adventcalendar is the diminutive yet delightful Alpine Gentian - an extremely rare alpine, perhaps now only found on Ben Lawers, and assessed as Endangered on the new #GBRedList Is there a better flower colour than gentian blue? No, there is not... #wildflowerhour

Many thanks to everyone who shared pix of wild & naturalised plants to brighten up the #WinterSolstice! Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas, then we have one more #WildFlowerHour before the #NewYearPlantHunt. And then days keep on getting longer until it's Spring! @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

It's not every day you find a new native species for Scotland! Day 22 of my botanical #adventcalendar is Shiny Glasswort - a nationally rare plant never recorded in Scotland before Growing in a salt pan on the Forth Estuary - branching pattern, colour and flower size the ID clues #wildflowerhour

Two great winter botanical skills workshops on offer in Jan & Feb 2026 from the wonderful West Central Scotland Botany Network! Winter Twig and Conifer ID workshops - book your place now and kickstart your New Year with some botanical brilliance 😍 @bsbibotany.bsky.social @plantlifeuk.bsky.social

Day 21 of my botanical #adventcalendar is the amazing Blue Heath, which grows on just a handful of Scottish mountains In flower the giant pink bells are unmistakeable, but the leaves look very similar to Mountain Crowberry, making it surprisingly hard to find! A truly special plant #wildflowerhour

Botanical #adventcalendar Day 20 - the fabulous Alpine Saxifrage, one of my favourite arctic-alpines, on Ben Lawers. Nationally scarce and now Near Threatened on #GBRedList, finding its distinctive basal rosette or, if you're lucky, that clustered inflorescence is always special! #wildflowerhour

Carex chordorrhiza (String Sedge). Another rare plant in Britain with just two sites in Scotland. This photo is from Insh marshes where the population of this fabulous plant was huge. @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Botanical #adventcalendar Day 19 - Wormwood, growing on an old coal mining site. Rare in Scotland & Endangered on the #GBRedList, this was the 1st record in West Perthshire since 1863! #wildflowerhour