BSBI Scotland

@bsbiscotland.bsky.social

I am Matt Harding, the Scotland Officer at @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Studying, appreciating & conserving wild flowers across Scotland, and supporting the Scottish botanical community.

@bsbibotany.bsky.social Oct 9, 2026, 11:26 AMReposted by @bsbiscotland.bsky.social

Taxonomic analysis on Giant Waterlily was carried out by Maarten Christenhusz, BSBI Wales Officer
He said "This is one of those extraordinary botanical stories where modern technology, indigenous knowledge & happy coincidences came together to uncover an extraordinary plant"
bsbi.org/about/news/l...

@bsbiscotland.bsky.social Oct 8, 2026, 12:37 PM

Booking is now open for the 2026 Scottish Botanists' Conference!
www.tickettailor.com/events/botan...
Join us for talks, workshops, exhibits & a post-conference dinner. From Caledonian Pine forests to the urban flora of our towns and cities, from mints to mountains, there is something for everyone!

@bsbibotany.bsky.social Oct 1, 2026, 1:00 PMReposted by @bsbiscotland.bsky.social

Our annual membership special offer opens today!
Join us this month to start enjoying 15 months of membership benefits for the price of 12.
Benefits to you: social/training/access/opportunities & more
Benefits to our wild plants: in a changing world, your support is vital!
bsbi.org/blog/2026/10...

A group of inclusive botanists stands near the edge of a lake in Aberdeenshire, pointing at some of the aquatic plants and sharing ID tips. Image: Ian Francis

A wet meadow in the Yorkshire Dales, full of Ragged Robin and other wild flowers. Image: Ken Readshaw

Julia Hanmer, BSBI Chief Executive. look up and smiles, surrounded by colleagues on an orchid-hunting trip in the Peak District. Image: Sarah Woods

@bsbibotany.bsky.social Oct 1, 2026, 10:10 AMReposted by @bsbiscotland.bsky.social

We just published our Annual Review 2025/26.
It provides a round-up of the amazing achievements of #BSBImembers over the past year: our research, training, outreach & publications.
It shows who we are & what we do.
Includes a Message from our President + a financial report:
bsbi.org/about/who-we...

A Grass-of-Parnassus flower, white with distinctive veining on the petals, photographed by Rebecca Cheape, graces the cover of the BSBI Annual Review.

@bsbiscotland.bsky.social Oct 1, 2026, 10:33 AM

On a rare trip south, I was thrilled to be given a tour of the Cotoneasters of Cherry Hinton by #BSBIViceCountyRecorder Lucy Wilson!
Learnt so much about this intimidating group of non-native shrubs (see alt-text), and actually looking forward to my next encounter with a weird one for a change 😂

Photo collage of Cotoneasters in Cherry Hinton chalk pits - four rows of three photos, described from top to bottom (each row left to right):
C. lacteus (Late), C. bradyi (Brady's), C. insculptus (Engraved)
C. salicifolius (Willow-leaved), C. x watereri (Waterer's), C. amoenus (Beautiful)
C. dammeri (Bearberry), C. divaricatus (Spreading), C. x suecicus (Swedish)
C. hjelmqvistii (Hjelmqvist's), C. simonsii (Himalayan), C. sternianus (Stern's)

@bsbibotany.bsky.social Sep 30, 2026, 9:01 AMReposted by @bsbiscotland.bsky.social

Today is the *final day* to submit your entries for the Botanical Photographer of the Year competition.

It's easy to send us your photos - if you aren't sure on the identification for a plant, simply tell us that on your entry. Make sure you are in the running!

Go, go, go! bsbi.org/take-part/ac...

@bsbibotany.bsky.social Sep 28, 2026, 10:09 AMReposted by @bsbiscotland.bsky.social

Based in Ireland?
Booked yet for this autumn's big event for all Irish plant- lovers?
Taking place this Saturday 3 October in Enniskillen.
Small registration fee includes lunch/tea/coffee & all workshops.
Don't miss out, it will be a great day!
www.tickettailor.com/events/botan...

@bsbibotany.bsky.social Sep 27, 2026, 8:08 PMReposted by @bsbiscotland.bsky.social

Still lots of wild plants in bloom for #WildFlowerHour and we cherish them more as the days shorten & we head into autumn.
Have a great week, remember to get your Botanical Photographer of the Year entries in by 30 September and hope to see you again next Sunday!
bsbi.org/take-part/ac...

@dunnjons.bsky.social Sep 27, 2026, 6:50 PMReposted by @bsbiscotland.bsky.social

A 5 mile transect walked the length of my island home yesterday was surprisingly productive for @wildflowerhour.bsky.social material - though no shocks until the very last, a Sea Pink running extraordinarily late in the year.

#WildflowerHour

A collage of wildflowers (and an autumnal interloper) from a walk in Shetland yesterday

@bsbiscotland.bsky.social Sep 27, 2026, 6:55 PM

Two days to go until our online AGM! Register now at www.tickettailor.com/events/botan...

This is a great opportunity for #BSBIMembers to find out more about our work in Scotland, #getinvolved, and enjoy a talk by @jameshardingmorris.bsky.social on #endemic wildlife to sweeten the deal 😉🥰

@bsbiscotland.bsky.social Sep 22, 2026, 12:26 PM

BSBI Scotland Officer Matt Harding gets excited about making new plant discoveries in the Scottish mountains!
😍😂

Despite having one of the best studied floras in the world, there is so much left to learn and discover about Scottish plants! #intrepid #BSBIMembers #100Plants2026 #WildFlowerHour

@bsbiscotland.bsky.social Sep 22, 2026, 11:54 AM

Exciting refind on Ben Lomond: Alpine Meadow-grass, last seen here in 1995, its southernmost Scottish site. 17 plants high on the crags in the northern corries, access was, umm, a little tricky...

plantatlas2020.org/atlas/2cd4p9...

Alpine Meadow-grass (Poa alpina) growing horizontally out of a rock wall, with its viviparous flowerheads dropping down against a backdrop of rolling moors and mountains

Alpine Meadow-grass (Poa alpina), demonstrating the viviparous flowerhead and broad, grey-green basal leaves

The location of this population - high on the north face of Ben Lomond, growing out of the left-hand wall of this cleft in the crag line. Not the most straightforward of plants to find...

A somewhat wide-eyed BSBI Scotland Officer mid cleft on the north face of Ben Lomond, surrounded by gorgeous plants (and with water running down his back!)

@bsbiscotland.bsky.social Sep 22, 2026, 11:10 AM

Join us for the BSBI's Scotland AGM online - Tuesday 29th September, 7:30pm! #BSBIMembers
Find out what has been happening in Scotland, vote for next year's Committee members, and enjoy a talk on Scotland's endemic wildlife from @jameshardingmorris.bsky.social

www.tickettailor.com/events/botan...

Photo by Sam Buckland, Durrell Wildlife Trust.
A group of botanists high in remote mountains in East Perthshire, recording aquatic plants at the edge of a beautiful lochan with mountains and blue sky reflected in it.

@bsbibotany.bsky.social Sep 22, 2026, 8:46 AMReposted by @bsbiscotland.bsky.social

Dr Stuart Desjardins, current Editor-in-Chief of #BritishandIrishBotany is looking to stand down at the end of 2026.
The search is on to find a successor: could that be you?
There will be lots of support on offer: bsbi.org/blog/2026/09...
Details of the role & how to apply: bsbi.org/about/people...

@bsbibotany.bsky.social Sep 16, 2026, 8:31 AMReposted by @bsbiscotland.bsky.social

Keen to support the next generation of botanists?
Identiplant, our online #WildFlowerID course, is the gateway for many beginners.
We'd like to offer more student spaces we but need more tutors to support them: could you be one?
Join us 7pm next Tues to find out
www.tickettailor.com/events/botan...

@bsbibotany.bsky.social Aug 28, 2026, 2:39 PMReposted by @bsbiscotland.bsky.social

We just published a new issue of #BritishandIrishBotany, our Open Access online scientific journal.
Find out about the 10 papers from authors inc @astridbiddle.bsky.social, Jo Jones from @plantlifeuk.bsky.social, Tim Rich, John Richards, Andy Amphlett, Chris Preston & more: bsbi.org/about/news/l...

The purple flowers of Limonium britannicum subsp. celticum, one of the Sea-lavenders, in their typical coastal habitats. Images: Jennifer Wilkinson

The bright blue flowers of the tiny Spring Speedwell (Veronica verna) which grows only in the Brecks. Image: Jo Jones

The bright yellow flowerhead of the Vatersay Dandelion, photographed by Paul Smith on the Hebridean island of Vatersay

@bsbiscotland.bsky.social Feb 24, 2026, 7:54 PM

**BREAKING NEWS** - Marsh Clubmoss refound in Dunbartonshire, at a site where it was last recorded in 1854! Being more-or-less evergreen, clubmosses make great botanical targets all year round. With that in mind, I set out to hunt for Marsh Clubmoss near Inveraran on the shore of Loch Lomond 🧵