Rachel Pennington 🌿
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rach0penno.bsky.social
Rachel Pennington 🌿
@rach0penno.bsky.social
400 followers 660 following 79 posts
I enjoy natural history (esp. botany), wildflowers, ecology, local history, archaeology and genealogy. Happiest on long family walks in the countryside. 🌿🍁🍄🍂🌼🌳
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Reposted by Rachel Pennington 🌿
chrischirp.bsky.social
I contributed to the Covid-19 Inquiry on the Test and Trace Module as an expert written witness.

My statement is now public for those (few) interested

covid19.public-inquiry.uk/documents/in...
INQ000575988 - Witness Statement of Professor Christina Pagel, dated 19/03/2025 UK Covid-19 Inquiry Archives
Witness Statement of Professor Christina Pagel, dated 19/03/2025.
covid19.public-inquiry.uk
July 22, 2025 at 4:44 PM
rach0penno.bsky.social
Lucerne or Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) growing in an arable field margin. Seen on a beautiful late summer evening walk.
#WildflowerHour
Purple flowers of Lucerne or Alfalfa growing at the edge of an arable field. The photo was taken in the evening, the sky in the background is soft blue and peach in colour.
July 13, 2025 at 7:25 PM
rach0penno.bsky.social
Common Knapweed (Centaurea nigra) adding bright spots of colour to the dry grasses in this meadow.
#WildflowerHour
A bright magenta coloured Knapweed flower in a meadow with straw coloured tall grasses around it. A meadow of straw coloured dry, tall.grass spikes dotted with purple Knapweed flowers.
July 6, 2025 at 8:14 PM
rach0penno.bsky.social
Not much flowering in the woods now, but there was a lovely patch of Tufted Vetch (Vicia cracca) adding a splash of colour to the greens of the woodland.
#WildflowerHour
Purple and blue tall erect flower spikes of Tufted Vetch.
June 29, 2025 at 7:20 PM
rach0penno.bsky.social
Common Restharrow (Ononis repens) on Rodborough Common, Gloucestershire this afternoon. The pink flowers of this shrubby creeping bush are now starting to take over from the pink of the fragrant orchids.
#WildflowerHour
A low growing shrub, Common Restharrow, with its pink flowers. Set against a blue sky with clouds. This plant was growing in a small quarried area on Rodborough Common
June 22, 2025 at 8:37 PM
rach0penno.bsky.social
Last week's hot weather had baked most of the orchids on Rodborough Common to a crisp, but a few were clinging on: Pyramidal orchid, white Fragrant Orchid, pink Fragrant Orchid and a Bee Orchid.
#WildflowerHour #Orchids
A bright magenta Pyramidal orchid A white Fragrant Orchid A large pink Fragrant Orchid A Bee Orchid
June 22, 2025 at 8:25 PM
rach0penno.bsky.social
Last week's hot weather had baked most of the orchids on Rodborough Common to a crisp, but a few were clinging on including this upside down Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera)
#WildflowerHour #Orchids
A Bee Orchid with two flowers at the top of the stem. The flowers are growing upside down on this plant.
June 22, 2025 at 8:18 PM
rach0penno.bsky.social
Ashton Court meadows, Bristol showing how sympathetic management for wildlife can happily sit alongside recreation for a large urban population.
#WildflowerHour #UrbanPlants
A meadow of tall grasses, common spotted orchids, clover, yellow rattle and yellow hawkbit flowers. A magenta purple/pink orchid probably a hybrid marsh orchid. Two pale pink flower spikes of Common Spotted Orchid. Pale pink Common Spotted Orchids, yellow Hawkbit flowers, Ox-Eye Daisies, tall grasses.
June 15, 2025 at 7:50 PM
rach0penno.bsky.social
Thousands of Common Fragrant Orchids (Gymnadenia conopsea) flowering across Rodborough Common, Gloucestershire yesterday. The strong breeze made photography challenging!
#WildflowerHour #Orchids
A pale pink tall flower spike of common fragrant orchid on Rodborough Common near Stroud, Gloucestershire. There are more flower spikes in the distance. A pink flower spike of Common Fragrant Orchid with several more spikes behind.
June 15, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Reposted by Rachel Pennington 🌿
orchidvinny.bsky.social
One of the 7 orchid wonders of Dorset - the Great Pyramidals of Weymouth 10.06.25. They certainly made this Giza happy! 🤪 #orchid @bsbibotany.bsky.social
June 10, 2025 at 9:29 PM
rach0penno.bsky.social
Broomrape, probably Common (Orobanche minor) and Pyramidal orchids (Anacamptis pyramidalis) were the standout flowering plants seen today in Gloucestershire.
Very late for #WildflowerHour
A stem of pale pinkish brown flowers of Common Broomrape within a green meadow with tall flowering grasses and clovers. A bright magenta purple pyramidal orchid flowering in a grassy road verge.
June 8, 2025 at 10:25 PM
rach0penno.bsky.social
A few from Gloucestershire's Golden Valley today at Daneway Banks and Strawberry Bank Nature Reserves @gloswildlife.bsky.social.
The drought has had a noticeably negative impact on the flora at both sites.
Common Columbine, Greater Knapweed and Dyer's Greenweed.
#WildflowerHour
A deep purple wild Common Columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris) growing on the steep slopes of Strawberry Banks, Gloucestershire. A magenta pink coloured Greater Knapweed (Centauria scabiosa) with a bulbous tufted swollen head at the top of the stem. Dyer's Greenweed (Genista tinctoria) with bright yellow flowers on erect leafy stalked spikes. A deep purple wild Common Columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris) with a nodding head and long backwards pointing spurs on the petals.
June 1, 2025 at 8:27 PM
rach0penno.bsky.social
Navelwort or Wall Pennywort (Umbilicus rupestris) is currently enjoying its moment all along the wall leading up to our village church. Some absolute units amongst them!
#WildflowerHour
#Wildflowers
A large cluster of wall pennywort flowers growing from a grey stone wall. The plant has tall round, green, succulent leaves that look like coins, and straw-coloured, thin, candle-like flower spikes which grow from the centre of the leaf.
May 25, 2025 at 8:05 PM
rach0penno.bsky.social
Late yesterday, just before dusk, a thick mist formed in the warm evening air after a sudden downpour, turning this urban park into an ethereal landscape 🧚🏻‍♀️
Two trees in the foreground stand on the edge of a park with a thick band of mist hovering above the grass. The sky is peachy and blue grey in colour shortly before dusk.
May 12, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Reposted by Rachel Pennington 🌿
sarahfaulkner.bsky.social
The Bluebells on Skomer Island are just spectacular at the moment. Also loving the Sea Campion, so pretty and the Puffins look great in amongst all the flowers. #wildflowerhour
May 11, 2025 at 7:55 PM
rach0penno.bsky.social
A Hawthorn tree encrusted with flowers, whilst thunder rolled around the Cotswold Edge.
#WildflowerHour
A solitary Hawthorn tree in a meadow laden with white flowers. The sky is very dark grey from storm cells.
May 11, 2025 at 7:04 PM
rach0penno.bsky.social
A miniature purple forest of Bugle flowers (Ajuga reptans) for #WildflowerHour
#Wildflowers
Lots of purple Bugle flowers with erect stems with many flowers on them. These were in a shaded woodland, growing with Sanicle and Speedwell.
May 11, 2025 at 6:59 PM
rach0penno.bsky.social
Early Halloween decorations 🎃 or the ghostly silken webs of the Ermine moth?
I tried not to get tangled up with the writhing caterpillars that were dangling on silken threads as they broke free from the tree!
#NaturePhotography
#Caterpillars
#Moths
@ukbutterflies.bsky.social
@royentsoc.bsky.social
A tree with its branches totally covered in Ermine moth cobwebs so that it looks ghostly white and ready for Halloween! The caterpillars had stripped all the leaves off the tree, with some of the caterpillars emerging from inside the webs and forming long writhing threads dangling from the branches. A close up of the white silken webs of the Ermine moth, totally cloaking the branches of a tree. A close up of a ball of wriggling Ermine moth caterpillars inside one of the 'nurseries' inside the white silken web.
May 6, 2025 at 4:48 PM
rach0penno.bsky.social
Like delicate ballerina-pink tutus dancing on long stems, the Water Avens (Geum rivale) are showing well in the damp grassy areas at Lower Woods Nature Reserve, South Gloucestershire.
#WildflowerHour
#Wildflowers
#NaturePhotography
@gloswildlife.bsky.social
@the-wildlifetrusts.bsky.social
A close up photo of a pale pink water avens flower. It has dark reddish brown, hairy sepals and stem. The flower head is nodding, so that the petals all point down, it looks a bit like a lampshade. A close up photo of a pale pink water avens flower. It has reddish brown, hairy sepals and stem. The flower in this photo is not facing downwards, so we can see inside the petals at the feathery seed head that's developing. A close up of a pale pink water avens flower. It has dark reddish brown, hairy sepals and stem. The flower head is nodding, so that the petals all point down, it looks a bit like a lampshade. A close up photo of a pale pink water avens flower. It has dark reddish brown, hairy sepals and stem. The flower head is nodding.
May 4, 2025 at 6:45 PM
rach0penno.bsky.social
Early-purple orchids (Orchis mascula) in the calcareous shallow soils at Selsley Common near Stroud, Gloucestershire. A windy site due to the SW facing aspect of its steep slopes.
#WildflowerHour
#Wildflowers
#NaturePhotography
A pair of magenta purple Early Purple orchids
April 27, 2025 at 7:58 PM
rach0penno.bsky.social
Thousands of Green-winged orchids (Anacamptis morio) flowering in the grassland and meadows at Ashton Court, Bristol. A real success story for the sympathetic management of shared open spaces for wildlife👏🏻
#WildflowerHour
#Bristol
#Wildflowers
#Meadows
#NaturePhotography
A close up of a dark magenta purple green winged orchid. The name comes from the green veins on the upper petals of the flower. A pale pink green winged orchid showing the green veins on its upper petals really clearly.
April 27, 2025 at 7:53 PM
rach0penno.bsky.social
Hundreds of Cowslips flowering in the meadow within our local ancient woodland.
Such a delight 💛
#SundayYellow
#Wildflowers
#Woodland
#NaturePhotography
A meadow with hundreds of yellow cowslips with their bell-like pendulous flowers on tall erect stems. A meadow full of hundreds of yellow cowslips.
April 27, 2025 at 10:17 AM
rach0penno.bsky.social
A little patch of heaven on earth for Earth Day 💙💚
A carpet of fragrant English Bluebells in our local ancient hazel/oak/ash woodland.
#EarthDay
#Bluebells #Woodland
#NaturePhotography #Wildflowers
A carpet of bluebells under hazel and ash. The hazel trees have yellow green leaves unfurling.
April 22, 2025 at 10:49 PM
rach0penno.bsky.social
Blue sky and Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) yesterday at Lower Woods Nature Reserve, South Gloucestershire for #BlueSkyMonday

#Bluebells #NaturePhotography
@gloswildlife.bsky.social
@the-wildlifetrusts.bsky.social
Looking along a woodland path to an old wooden '5 bar' gate. There are bluebells on either side of the path carpeting the woodland floor. There are hazel trees with vibrant green leaves.
April 21, 2025 at 8:49 AM
rach0penno.bsky.social
Greater Stitchwort (Stellaria holostea) adding some sparkle to our local hedgerows and verges 🤍💚
#WildflowerHour
#NaturePhotography
#Wildflowers
A mass of white Greater Stitchwort flowers, each with five deeply notched petals.
April 20, 2025 at 8:09 PM