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bsbiscotland.bsky.social
BSBI Scotland
@bsbiscotland.bsky.social
940 followers 530 following 300 posts
I am Matt Harding, the Scotland Officer at @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Studying, appreciating & conserving wild flowers across Scotland, and supporting the Scottish botanical community.

https://bsbi.org/scotland
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bsbiscotland.bsky.social
BSBI Scotland @bsbiscotland.bsky.social · 1d
Take on the #100Plants2026 challenge, and open your eyes to the amazing world of plants on your doorstep!
bsbibotany.bsky.social BSBI Botany @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 4d
Can you find, identify & record 100 wild plants in 2026?
BSBI is confident that (with our support) yes, you can!
Beginner botanists, will you accept the challenge?
Sign up today for #100Plants2026 challenge:
bsbi.org/take-part/ac...
Check out the webinars & #WildFlowerID help we've prep'd for you!
Young man sitting in field with plant ID books, recording wild flowers in the sunshine
bsbiscotland.bsky.social
Take on the #100Plants2026 challenge, and open your eyes to the amazing world of plants on your doorstep!
bsbibotany.bsky.social BSBI Botany @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 4d
Can you find, identify & record 100 wild plants in 2026?
BSBI is confident that (with our support) yes, you can!
Beginner botanists, will you accept the challenge?
Sign up today for #100Plants2026 challenge:
bsbi.org/take-part/ac...
Check out the webinars & #WildFlowerID help we've prep'd for you!
Young man sitting in field with plant ID books, recording wild flowers in the sunshine
February 6, 2026 at 1:35 PM
Reposted by BSBI Scotland
biologicalrecording.co.uk
🌿 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
February 5, 2026 at 12:47 PM
Reposted by BSBI Scotland
stuartmilligan.bsky.social
A rather late #TheWinter10 (only nine Im afraid) for #WildFlowerHour tonight. All photographed in south central Scotland this week.
A collage of photographs of nine flowers: Cherry Plum; Oxford Ragwort; White Dead-nettle; Hazel (male catkins); Primrose; Winter Aconite; Golden Crocus; Herb Bennet; Hazel (female catkins).
February 2, 2026 at 12:38 AM
Reposted by BSBI Scotland
bsbibotany.bsky.social
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...
Diversity data report | The RACE Report
Read the latest diversity data submitted by environmental charities and funders to progress diversity and inclusion through transparency.
www.race-report.uk
February 2, 2026 at 11:00 AM
bsbiscotland.bsky.social
A selection of flowers from this week for #wildflowehour - Winter Aconite, Dog’s Mercury, Green Field-speedwell and Yellow Crocus dotted around Stirling
February 1, 2026 at 5:38 PM
bsbiscotland.bsky.social
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
Looking up at a small clump of Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) in the winter sunshine. The flowers are doubles, with extra tepals packed into the inflorescence Another clump of double-flowered Snowdrops, white flowers open and outer tepals spread wide. The clump has been planted on the steep, base rich woodland on the basalt volcanic plug of Stirling Castle Mound
January 28, 2026 at 7:13 PM
bsbiscotland.bsky.social
*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...
Decline in botanical education threatens response to climate action and food security
www.ucd.ie
January 23, 2026 at 8:10 AM
bsbiscotland.bsky.social
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...
bsbibotany.bsky.social BSBI Botany @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 19d
Are you planning to undertake a project in 2026 which involves collecting plant-related data?
Would you like <£1,000 towards your costs?
Apply for a #BSBIPlantStudyGrant!
Here's how:
bsbi.org/learn/grants...
Read how a #BSBIGrant helped Katherine research ancient meadows:
bsbi.org/blog/2026/01...
January 22, 2026 at 1:19 PM
Reposted by BSBI Scotland
dunnjons.bsky.social
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.
Greater Butterfly Orchid (Platanthera chlorantha) lusus © Jon Dunn Lesser Butterfly Orchid (Platanthera bifolia) lusus © Jon Dunn
January 22, 2026 at 12:01 PM
Reposted by BSBI Scotland
bsbibotany.bsky.social
'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...
January 21, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Reposted by BSBI Scotland
joaniemcnaughton.bsky.social
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
January 20, 2026 at 10:01 AM
Reposted by BSBI Scotland
bsbibotany.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!
bucbotany.bsky.social Botanical University Challenge @bucbotany.bsky.social · Jan 6
🌱🌾🌲🌍🌿🍄🌺🌳🌴🌷🪳🐝🧬🥦 Botanical University Challenge 2026 #BUC2026 starts on-line 11 February. Teams of 4 students on degree programmes should register by 16 January. See website for more details. botanicaluniversitychallenge.co.uk
Picture of careers showcase from Fourth Student Botany Festival 2025. Woman talking to student with posters of information behind.
January 14, 2026 at 2:50 PM
bsbiscotland.bsky.social
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.
Cut-leaved Dead-nettle (Lamium hybridum) - a bright green plant with paired leaves with sharp lobing dissecting the leaf margins. A small pinkish flower is just visible. Growing against a backdrop of stones and soil, in the open circle at the base of a planted street tree. Henbit Dead-nettle (Lamium amplexicaule), growing in a gravelly margin just in front of a square wire fence. The red stems raise it above the low basal rosettes and mosses also growing in the verge here. It has paired green leaves, the lowest with short stalks and the higher ones more or less sessile (stalkless). A tiny pink flower is just visible on one of the right-hand plants.
January 18, 2026 at 4:21 PM
bsbiscotland.bsky.social
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...
😉
Looking down on some winter rosettes of small plants in a patch of thin soil and gravel in a corner of an industrial estate. Several different green basal rosette types are visible - neat ones with forked leaves, bigger ones with rounded paired leaves, loose open rosettes with longer narrower leaves, densely leaved rosettes with spatulate leaves of various degrees of hairiness, and some very young grass rosettes. Plus some acrocarpous mosses, and the odd rock.
January 18, 2026 at 9:34 AM
Reposted by BSBI Scotland
stuartmilligan.bsky.social
A few botanical highlights from Broadwood Loch, Cumbernauld today:
A tiny female flower of Hazel looking like a bright pink spider or sea anemone at the junction of two sections of a twig. Velvety domes of Jelly Ear fungus glowing dusky orange in the winter sunshine. Deep mauve-brown coloured growths of Jelly Ear fungus on a dead tree. Small, hand-shaped projections of Candlesnuff fungus growing out of a tuft of moss. Normally white, these examples are stained pale green, possibly due to algal growth.
January 14, 2026 at 12:55 AM
Reposted by BSBI Scotland
1davidelston.bsky.social
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.
January 13, 2026 at 10:05 PM
Reposted by BSBI Scotland
ukceh.bsky.social
🦋🌿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... 🧪
Recruitment poster for 12 botanical or entomological field surveyors, April-September 2026. Closing date: January 30, 2026.
January 9, 2026 at 9:36 AM
Reposted by BSBI Scotland
bsbibotany.bsky.social
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...
January 13, 2026 at 12:52 PM
Reposted by BSBI Scotland
trevorthebotanist.bsky.social
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
Winter Talk: Urban plants, with Trevor Dines
YouTube video by Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland
www.youtube.com
January 9, 2026 at 5:39 PM
bsbiscotland.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...
January 6, 2026 at 12:40 PM
bsbiscotland.bsky.social
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
Winter Twigs ID Workshop poster Saturday 17th January 2026, Balloch Castle Country Park, G83 8LX: 10am-3pm £15 BSBI members and students, £30 non-members Includes a free copy of 'Winter Trees: A photographic guide to common trees and shrubs' Booking essential. Contact Michael Philip for more info: botany@opus44.co.uk
January 6, 2026 at 9:43 AM
Reposted by BSBI Scotland
trevorthebotanist.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...
January 5, 2026 at 7:06 PM
bsbiscotland.bsky.social
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 😂 🤦
Sticky Groundsel (Senecio viscosus) growing on a low wall top, a clump with a mixture of white fluffy seed heads and yellow flowers, the outer ray florets recurved. Whole plant wilting a bit with the frost. Behind the picturesque delights of Grangemouth - some waste ground recently seeded with Perennial Ryegrass (and covered in dog poop), some bins, a wall and a car park. Red Dead-nettle (Lamium purpureum) flowering in a weed-dominated planter (the best kind) in an unkempt corner of Grangemouth. Common Chickweed (Stellaria media) completes the vegetation cover, all rather frost wilted - like a bag of salad you should have thrown away yesterday but kept in the fridge because you feel guilty. The magnificent Kelpies stand over the Forth and Clyde Canal between Falkirk and Grangemouth, rearing in the winter sun. Most of the canal is frozen, with the water movement from the locks keeping some of this section clear.
January 4, 2026 at 8:54 PM
bsbiscotland.bsky.social
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!
Rosy Cress (Arabis collina) in flower on a wall. The basal rosettes of dark green, toothed leaves with pale midribs have clusters of buds in the centre, with one plant developing a stem with several buds breaking open revealing pink petals, and one flower fully open showing off yellow stamens and stigma. Selfie in the glooming, pointing to yellow Gorse (Ulex europaeus) flowers by the side of a track through woodland. Gorse is the most frequently recorded species in flower in Scotland - not least because it is visible in all but the heaviest snows! Ivy-leaved Toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis) in flower on the top of a garden wall, with Holly above and a road and large house behind, in the suburbs of Stirling. The last light of the day illuminates the sky, the streetlamps are on and a torch was needed to add further species.
January 4, 2026 at 7:27 AM
bsbiscotland.bsky.social
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!
Stirling New Year Plant Hunt team, holding much needed coffees and standing in front of a large sign saying 'Stirling' - conclusive evidence that we had indeed found the right place. An idiot lying on frosty frozen mud, examining Common Whitlowgrass (Erophila verna) flowers to check if they were countable (they were!). Bramble the dog lies down in solidarity next to me. Thanks to Tracy Rich for the photo. The team surrounding a Holly (Ilex aquifolium) tree on Stirling Back Walk, determined to find an open flower - eventually we managed it, just! This pathway under the old town walls is a sun trap and always good for flowering plants in the winter. Thanks to Tracy Rich for the photo. Finally, Smooth Sowthistle (Sonchus oleraceus) in flower. One Hunter gets caught up in the moment of triumph for the camera!
January 4, 2026 at 7:00 AM