Iain Darbyshire
@iaindarbyshire1.bsky.social
Research botanist at RBG Kew: 🌿African Acanthaceae, Important Plant Areas 🌺| Keen birder, all-round naturalist | 🦁 Aston Villa 🙌🏼 | Views are my own
Pinned
The Acanthaceae Taxonomic Expert Network (TEN) for #WorldFloraOnline is now official. We’ll be curating the names for the ca. 4,900 species across over 190 genera in this important pantropical and subtropical family.
about.worldfloraonline.org/tens/acantha...
about.worldfloraonline.org/tens/acantha...
Reposted by Iain Darbyshire
New #GBRedList for vascular plants is published today by a team led by @bsbibotany.bsky.social with partners @naturalengland.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social @naturescot.bsky.social @natreswales.bsky.social @nhm-london.bsky.social @plantlifeintl.bsky.social @rbgkew.bsky.social @thebotanics.bsky.social
November 5, 2025 at 9:21 AM
New #GBRedList for vascular plants is published today by a team led by @bsbibotany.bsky.social with partners @naturalengland.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social @naturescot.bsky.social @natreswales.bsky.social @nhm-london.bsky.social @plantlifeintl.bsky.social @rbgkew.bsky.social @thebotanics.bsky.social
Reposted by Iain Darbyshire
It’s so hard to choose a #FavouritePlant for #wildflowerhour but this Moonwort standing guard over various other candidates has won my vote.
September 14, 2025 at 7:45 PM
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
September 14, 2025 at 7:35 PM
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
Reposted by Iain Darbyshire
Zitting Cisticola has bred in Britain for the first time, with a pair raising young in Suffolk this summer:
Historic first nesting of Zitting Cisticola in Britain
Zitting Cisticola has bred in Britain for the first time, with the record confirmed at Walberswick NNR, Suffolk, in August 2025. A singing male was joined by a second bird, and by 22 August both were seen feeding at least four fledged juveniles – the first proven nesting of this warbler in Britain. The landmark record follows recent first breeding confirmations of Glossy Ibis and Blyth's Reed Warbler, highlighting rapid shifts in Britain's avian landscape.
bit.ly
August 29, 2025 at 6:16 AM
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
August 24, 2025 at 6:58 PM
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
August 10, 2025 at 4:33 PM
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!
August 10, 2025 at 4:20 PM
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!
We’re looking for a productive early career taxonomist to join Kew’s Africa team!
B. A. Krukoff Curator of African Botany - Careers | Kew Gardens
This is an exciting opportunity to join the Africa Team of Kew’s Accelerated Taxonomy department to deliver high-quality taxonomic and systematic research on the plant diversity of Africa and to apply...
careers.kew.org
August 10, 2025 at 4:00 PM
📢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!
We’re looking for a productive early career taxonomist to join Kew’s Africa team!
Reposted by Iain Darbyshire
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
Our archives preserve his letters, telegraphs & press clippings from the expedition: a window into early plant exploration.
Take a look! 👇
🗃 #KewLA
![A newspaper cutting adhered to a guard paper in a bound volume. Someone has written in ink the title of the newspaper it has been taken from: 'Egyptian Gazette, Alexandria, 22 June 1880'. The section of the article that has been photographed reads: 'Dr. Schweinfurth, whose departure for Socotra was announced in our columns on 23rd February 1881, returned to Saez on 19th inst. The doctor's account of his trip to Socotra and his stay on the island is highly interesting, and we trust to his kindness to enable us to give our readers some further details later on. In the meantime the following brief notes furnished to us may prove of interest. The doctor made the voyage from Aden to Socotra in a native vessel, he does not appear to have very pleasant recollections of this voyage, which lasted for one month. On the voyage the vessel called at Shugra, Bolhaf, and el Hami, after which the course was set across the Gulf of Aden from Ras Sharma to Socotra. At Socotra Dr Schweinfurth remained for a month, making daily investigations into the rich flora of the [...]. Vegetation is very luxuriant [...].](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6h2nzrepsboow5qu42xtebgn/bafkreichgadz2yispvthcqduhnqtz7dsbcv6b6trctis7zqftfm4xkoh6a@jpeg)
June 26, 2025 at 2:43 PM
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
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!
The June solstice has passed, which means we have a fresh update for our WFO Plant List! The big news since December is we now have more than 200 named co-authors on the WFO Plant List. Watch to see what else is new and visit worldfloraonline.org to browse the Plant List.
June 26, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Important updates on World Flora Online!
Reposted by Iain Darbyshire
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
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
May 28, 2025 at 1:21 PM
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
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
Reposted by Iain Darbyshire
Oh, this looks fun!
❤️❤️
❤️❤️
May 16, 2025 at 3:47 PM
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
May 11, 2025 at 7:24 PM
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
Reposted by Iain Darbyshire
...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/...
Tann said: “Why call that red tape? You wouldn’t call protecting St Paul’s Cathedral red tape.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘Irreplaceable habitat’: planning bill raises fears for England’s chalk streams
Environmentalists worry that the post-Brexit legislation will allow the destruction of rare and fragile ecosystems
www.theguardian.com
May 6, 2025 at 10:22 AM
...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/...
Tann said: “Why call that red tape? You wouldn’t call protecting St Paul’s Cathedral red tape.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Iain Darbyshire
An interesting story about the name of the genus Anthospermum in Rubiaceae. doi.org/10.38201/abc...
May 5, 2025 at 10:31 AM
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
May 5, 2025 at 10:36 AM
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
May 4, 2025 at 7:22 PM
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
May 4, 2025 at 7:15 PM
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
Reposted by Iain Darbyshire
Beyond shameless. Just treating its own readers with absolute contempt.
April 29, 2025 at 8:39 AM
Beyond shameless. Just treating its own readers with absolute contempt.
Reposted by Iain Darbyshire
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...
Featuring @naomibot.bsky.social @rbgkew.bsky.social #plantconservation #botanicalgardens
knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...
The surprisingly tricky art of seed banking
To safeguard threatened plants, science must unravel the hidden biology of often-persnickety seeds as they age, sleep and awaken
knowablemagazine.org
April 25, 2025 at 1:24 PM
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...
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
@aetfat2025.bsky.social
April 18, 2025 at 12:35 PM
⚠️📢 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
@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....
April 18, 2025 at 10:28 AM
📢 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....
Reposted by Iain Darbyshire
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
April 6, 2025 at 6:54 PM
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
@wildflowerhour.bsky.social
April 6, 2025 at 7:16 PM
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
@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
@wildflowerhour.bsky.social
April 6, 2025 at 7:08 PM
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
@wildflowerhour.bsky.social