Ben Averis
@averisben.bsky.social
Botany, bryology, lichens, habitat classification, ecology, biodiversity (http://www.benandalisonaveris.co.uk/), art (http://www.benaverisart.co.uk/), music, poetry... Lives near Edinburgh, Scotland.
An old oak near Welshpool, in mid Wales.
1: About 30-35 years ago. Drawn in coloured pencil in 2010 from a photo taken many years earlier.
2: What remains of the same tree today. A younger oak has been planted nearby (visible at left edge of photo) in the last 15 or so years.
1: About 30-35 years ago. Drawn in coloured pencil in 2010 from a photo taken many years earlier.
2: What remains of the same tree today. A younger oak has been planted nearby (visible at left edge of photo) in the last 15 or so years.
November 19, 2025 at 7:52 PM
An old oak near Welshpool, in mid Wales.
1: About 30-35 years ago. Drawn in coloured pencil in 2010 from a photo taken many years earlier.
2: What remains of the same tree today. A younger oak has been planted nearby (visible at left edge of photo) in the last 15 or so years.
1: About 30-35 years ago. Drawn in coloured pencil in 2010 from a photo taken many years earlier.
2: What remains of the same tree today. A younger oak has been planted nearby (visible at left edge of photo) in the last 15 or so years.
Very surprised to have just found Cowslip (Primula veris) in flower here in East Lothian, Scotland. An unusual time of year for this species to be flowering.
November 17, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Very surprised to have just found Cowslip (Primula veris) in flower here in East Lothian, Scotland. An unusual time of year for this species to be flowering.
Ivy-leaved Toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis) growing as an epiphyte on the trunk of a palm tree in Barcelona, Spain, today. I've previously seen it only on rocks and walls. Also nice to see fruiting Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo) here in its native range.
November 11, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Ivy-leaved Toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis) growing as an epiphyte on the trunk of a palm tree in Barcelona, Spain, today. I've previously seen it only on rocks and walls. Also nice to see fruiting Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo) here in its native range.
I was just across the glen from there last weekend!
November 1, 2025 at 5:09 PM
I was just across the glen from there last weekend!
Today I was amazed to find that this toilets room in the National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh is quite a stunning work of art in itself.
October 22, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Today I was amazed to find that this toilets room in the National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh is quite a stunning work of art in itself.
Here is another one of these - in Falkirk, Scotland. Drawn in coloured pencil.
October 20, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Here is another one of these - in Falkirk, Scotland. Drawn in coloured pencil.
My wife Alison found and photographed this Grey Shoulder-knot here in East Lothian, Scotland, a few days ago (13th October 2025). A very rare moth in Scotland. #TeamMoth
October 17, 2025 at 2:26 PM
My wife Alison found and photographed this Grey Shoulder-knot here in East Lothian, Scotland, a few days ago (13th October 2025). A very rare moth in Scotland. #TeamMoth
My wife Alison had these five Merveille du Jour moths in her moth trap this morning, here in SE Scotland.
October 14, 2025 at 1:22 PM
My wife Alison had these five Merveille du Jour moths in her moth trap this morning, here in SE Scotland.
Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) has a very wide world distribution.
October 11, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) has a very wide world distribution.
Somewhere around here?
October 5, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Somewhere around here?
There's something about that Long Island skyline, with tall buildings well spaced, that has a special feel so different to that of the more crowded Manhattan skyscrapers. A bit like ancient standing stones, but huge. I drew this picture of it from a photo I took (from Manhattan) in 2014.
September 25, 2025 at 1:23 PM
There's something about that Long Island skyline, with tall buildings well spaced, that has a special feel so different to that of the more crowded Manhattan skyscrapers. A bit like ancient standing stones, but huge. I drew this picture of it from a photo I took (from Manhattan) in 2014.
Just found some good patches of the beautiful moss Ptilium cristacastrensis in a conifer plantation in the lowlands of Angus, eastern Scotland.
September 9, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Just found some good patches of the beautiful moss Ptilium cristacastrensis in a conifer plantation in the lowlands of Angus, eastern Scotland.
Western bryophyte interest in the Scottish central belt: I recently found this population of the oceanic liverwort Frullania teneriffae (in Britain seen mainly in native woods & rocky habitats in the W Highlands & Hebrides) on Norway Maple in a plantation in W Lothian, between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
September 6, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Western bryophyte interest in the Scottish central belt: I recently found this population of the oceanic liverwort Frullania teneriffae (in Britain seen mainly in native woods & rocky habitats in the W Highlands & Hebrides) on Norway Maple in a plantation in W Lothian, between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Just written this poem in response to the Chinese military parade attended by Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
September 3, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Just written this poem in response to the Chinese military parade attended by Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
A patch of moss won’t last forever. Hence the only finding of Ulota drummondii in West Lothian (found in 2023; seen again in 2025) could be gone in a few years. Then back to nothing. But no! Today I found it at a second site in the county! We can now feel reassured a bit more, and worry a bit less.
August 27, 2025 at 8:04 PM
A patch of moss won’t last forever. Hence the only finding of Ulota drummondii in West Lothian (found in 2023; seen again in 2025) could be gone in a few years. Then back to nothing. But no! Today I found it at a second site in the county! We can now feel reassured a bit more, and worry a bit less.
Lovely photo.
I happened to photograph the very same two species today, while doing botanical survey work in West Lothian.
I happened to photograph the very same two species today, while doing botanical survey work in West Lothian.
August 24, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Lovely photo.
I happened to photograph the very same two species today, while doing botanical survey work in West Lothian.
I happened to photograph the very same two species today, while doing botanical survey work in West Lothian.
Just noticed that I had written "it" instead of "the sycamore" at the end of the first sentence. Apologies! I was writing about the sycamore (on which I found the interesting mosses), but then mentioned both trees in the first line and forgot to change the wording further down.
August 22, 2025 at 8:55 AM
Just noticed that I had written "it" instead of "the sycamore" at the end of the first sentence. Apologies! I was writing about the sycamore (on which I found the interesting mosses), but then mentioned both trees in the first line and forgot to change the wording further down.
We called in to see the Birnam trees (oak and sycamore) in Perthshire yesterday afternoon on our way home, and I was pleased to see the mosses Antitrichia curtipendula and Leucodon sciuroides growing on it. Always good to see these species, and especially on such a magnificent tree as this.
August 21, 2025 at 8:00 PM
We called in to see the Birnam trees (oak and sycamore) in Perthshire yesterday afternoon on our way home, and I was pleased to see the mosses Antitrichia curtipendula and Leucodon sciuroides growing on it. Always good to see these species, and especially on such a magnificent tree as this.
Always keen to photograph bog habitat on relatively steep ground. Just found this example in the Cairngorms. National Vegetation Classification type M19c.
August 20, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Always keen to photograph bog habitat on relatively steep ground. Just found this example in the Cairngorms. National Vegetation Classification type M19c.
Interesting to see some rather late-flowering Wood Crane's-bill (Geranium sylvaticum) today, in our garden in SE Scotland.
August 16, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Interesting to see some rather late-flowering Wood Crane's-bill (Geranium sylvaticum) today, in our garden in SE Scotland.
Here are leaves of Sheathed Sedge (Carex vaginata) in montane grassland/heath in Perthshire.
July 30, 2025 at 10:42 PM
Here are leaves of Sheathed Sedge (Carex vaginata) in montane grassland/heath in Perthshire.
Just took a walk uphill from our house and unexpectedly found a new site for the rare wetland moss Tomentypnum nitens! Growing here in sedge/rush mire in the Lammermuir Hills, SE Scotland.
July 24, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Just took a walk uphill from our house and unexpectedly found a new site for the rare wetland moss Tomentypnum nitens! Growing here in sedge/rush mire in the Lammermuir Hills, SE Scotland.