Welcome to the blog of the Botanical Society of Scotland
We launched in May 2020. We wanted to provide a focal point for members, in view of the cancellation of our usual programme of visits and lectures. Through this blog, we are hoping to supplement the information available on our main website, our Facebook pages and our News publication.
So far, we have had a steady flow of blogs, and we introduced ‘Plant of the Week’ in which we feature a species which you may easily find on your walks. Feel free to submit a blog article to us, preferably with at least one image. Send us a message through the contact form and we will get back to you.
Our main field activity at present is to gather data for our Urban Flora Project (https://www.botanical-society-scotland.org.uk/Urban_Flora_of_Scotland), so part of the blog will be about this, and we hope to encourage more of you to participate.
To help newcomers, we have also added a LEARN page, which will be further developed in the coming weeks and we hope will be a valuable resource.
Don’t forget, our website (https://www.botanical-society-scotland.org.uk/) is useful for basic information about us and provides access for our members to our BSS News and our international journal Plant Ecology and Diversity. Our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/botsocscot/ is enjoyed by many people.
Plants of the Week, 5th June 2023 – Three Plantains (Plantago)
Maria Chamberlain has been looking at native Plantains
Evening field visit to Bathgate: derelict land, woodland and flood lagoons. Tuesday 13th June 19:30 h
We’ll meet at Morison’s car park (2, Linkston Way, Bathgate EH48 2SS). Once in the car park (free parking) walk south, through the gap in the boundary fence, over another fence and into a large open area of derelict land. For the industrial history of Bathgate see https://scottishshale.co.uk/places/oil-works/bathgate-chemical-works/ . From 1850, it was “perhaps the…
Plant of the Week, 29th May 2023 – Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
This year there seem to be more flowers than usual on Hawthorn.
Plant of the Week, 22nd May 2023 – Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata)
A native herb with a delicate garlic flavour; invasive in other parts of the world.
Plant of the Week, 15th May 2023 – Bird Cherry (Prunus padus)
A native tree with a northern tendency, recently called into service to make boutique gin.
Plant of the Week, 8th May 2023 – Hoary Cress (Lepidium draba)
A plant with a military connection.
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Botany in Scotland 
I found your link through Chris Jeffree who I had written to for permission to use one of his photographs, a red admiral, for a poem. I look forward to reading the blog.
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Came across the link for Botany in Scotland the other week and although I am living far south of the border in Plymouth Devon I was instantly gripped by the plant of the week article and signed up for the weekly updates. So refreshing to read up on all the many plants and their uses, many of which I see every day but had no idea about. I look forward to reading more in the future.
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