Welcome to the blog of the Botanical Society of Scotland
THIS BLOG IS MOVING TO OUR NEW WEBSITE AT https://botsoc.scot/blogs-and-publications/plant-of-the-week/
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 mostly feature 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://botsoc.scot/plants-and-fungi/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://botsoc.scot/) 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, but if you wish to join the society as a proper member, please go to https://botsoc.scot/join/.
Plant of the Week – May 6th 2024- Lunaria annua (Honesty)
An alien species, introduced to Britain as an ornamental in 1571. It may be useful as an oil crop.
Plant of the Week – April 29th 2024- Allium paradoxum (Few-flowered Garlic)
This invasive species has ‘taken over’ the springtime flora in many of our woodlands. Maria Chamberlain encountered it many years ago when it was less common, and she relates the tale.
Plant of the Week – April 22nd 2024- Oxalis acetosella (Wood Sorrel)
Another flower of Spring, often found in woodlands but many other habitats too. The leaflets have ‘sleep movements’, folding down at night.
Plant of the Week – April 15th 2024- Cardamine hirsuta and C. flexuosa (Bittercress)
Two familiar ‘weeds’ that can be hard to tell apart.
Plant of the Week – April 8th 2024- Mertensia maritima (Oyster Plant)
This species no longer occurs in England and Wales. In Scotland it survives and does best in the North-east.
Plant of the Week, 1st April 2024 – Scurvy-grass (Cochlearia officinalis and C. danica)
Two species of Scurvy-grass, flowering now at coastal sites and along salted roads.
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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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