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.
Plant of the Week – January 17th 2022 -the White Dead-nettle (Lamium album)
The white dead-nettle, another winter-flowering plant, is a member of the Lamiaceae, a family which contains many of our culinary herbs. Although their common names are similar, the stinging-nettle belongs to a completely different family. Read on to learn more.
Plants of the Week That Was – January 1st- 8th 2022- New Year Flower Hunting
You can still see a few wild plants in flower. Some are blooming reluctantly, some seem to have mistaken the seasons, but a few are thriving and flowering quite naturally despite freezing conditions.
Plant of the Week – January 3rd 2022 Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris and S. viscosus)
Groundsel, one of the most common native plants, in flower even in mid-winter needs little introduction. Its sticky relative suggests the question, why sticky?
Plant of the Week – December 27th 2021 Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus)
Snowberry’s fruits are as white as snow, highly visible in winter months. Why are they ignored by birds?
Plant of the Week – December 20th 2021 Intermediate Wintergreen (Pyrola media )
Brian Ballinger has encountered this scarce species many times in the Scottish Highlands. This week he shares his knowledge with us.
Which is the best month for wild flowers in Scotland?
Brian Ballinger has been recording flowers in East Ross during all twelve months of the year. He shows there is plenty to record, even in the winter.
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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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