Botanical University Challenge

Pictures students undergrads to PhDs - giving talks on their plant projects and enthusiasms. Text about it in The Thymes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmfOh47Jucg

🌱🌾🌲🌍🌿🍄🌺🌳🌴🌷🪳🥦 Memories of 2025 Student Botany Festival, held University of Cambridge. Best part Helena Brown was the flash talks from students - atmosphere was electric and such enthusiasm. Move in newsletter & YouTube. @cubotanicgarden.bsky.social botanicaluniversitychallenge.co.uk/the-thymes/

2 pictures Uni Reading campus. Modern buildings, trees, people, plants. Start of article about plans. Follow QR code for full article.

🌱🌾🌲🌍🌿🍄🌺🌳🌴🌷🪳🥦 Immediately after #BUC2026 will be Fourth Student Botany Festival at University of Reading. Two days for students from all over UK & Ireland enthusiastic about plants to meet, talk & learn. Preview of plans in current issue newsletter. @drmgoeswild.bsky.social

Pictures teams and competition in Botanical University Challenge 2019. Group of around 24 students, and start of text of article about the event. QR code for full text.

🌱🌾🌲🌍🌿🍄🌺🌳🌴🌷🪳🥦 Semifinal & final Botanical University Challenge #BUC2026 will be at University of Reading in August. Whole event held here one day 2019. Only 6 teams. Memories from @drmgoeswild.bsky.social in recent issue of our newsletter. How many teams will be in #BUC2026? Definitely over 30 !

The answer to where in the UK or Ireland you would expect to find ivy-leaved toadflax growing, from the list of five suggestions in the picture, is on a wall.

Picture flower purple shades with yellow-white centre. 5 petals lobes. But where would you expect to find it growing: wall, plant, bog, seaside, newly disturbed ground?

🌱🌾🌲🌍🌿🍄🌺🌳🌴🌷🪳🥦 To get in the mood for Botanical University Challenge #BUC2026 (starts streaming YouTube 14:00 GMT 11 Feb), here's a question from last year!

Pictures people with plants Text about why in biology degrees. Read all at https://botanicaluniversitychallenge.co.uk/the-thymes/

🧪🌿🌾🪾🌹🏵🪳🐌🌍 What should be the required and optional content in Biology or Biological Sciences degrees? The case for including plants as required content in latest issue of newsletter of Botanical University Challenge botanicaluniversitychallenge.co.uk/the-thymes/ ##BUC2026

Covers of 2 books A City on Mars and Underland. text of reviews about them. Full text at https://botanicaluniversitychallenge.co.uk/the-thymes/

🌱🌾🌲🌍🌿🍄🌺🌳🌴🌷🪳🥦 Newsletter of Botanical University Challenge includes reviews of books with a botanical slant. Latest 2 are multi-award-winning 'A City on Mars' by Kelly & Zach Weinersmith, and 'Underland' by Robert Macfarlane. Read to see what you think. botanicaluniversitychallenge.co.uk/the-thymes/

Are you spotting orchid rosettes in your area?
Would you like to be able to recognise native orchids before they come into bloom?
Try this helpful #WildFlowerID guide which Mike Waller of @ukorchids.bsky.social fame created for @nhm-london.bsky.social:
www.nhm.ac.uk/take-part/id...

Did somebody mention basal rosettes?
Check out the fabulous Basal Project website, it has almost 2,000 photos of basal & juvenile leaves of British & Irish wild plants:
basalproject.org.uk

4 pictures woodland fungi on ground, moss, rotting wood. Start of text about them.

🌱🌾🌲🌍🌿🍄🌺🌳🌴🌷🪳🥦 Read about student enthusiasm for woodland fungi in latest issue of newsletter Botanical University Challenge, The Thymes.
botanicaluniversitychallenge.co.uk/the-thymes/ #BUC2026

Team side of Uni Southampton, The Not-So-Hot Potatoes. Their faces on Potatoes.

🌱🌾🌍🌺🍄🌳🐝 More teams from Universities and Institutions in UK and Ireland registering for Botanical University Challenge #BUC2026. Until Friday 23 January for others to register.

Starting to see what teams look like - and their names. Here's University of Southampton - The Not-So-Hot Potatoes!

Pictures of ground ivy, nice purple orchid-like flowers, frilled-edged green leaves. Also leaves with parasites - one eating away at inside leaving white area, other causing raised pale galls. Also start of text of interview with Laura Moss about The Big Meadow Search. https://bsky.app/profile/bigmeadowsearch.bsky.social

🌱🌾🌲🌍🌿🍄🌺🌳🌴🌷🪳🥦 Read about Big Meadow Search @bigmeadowsearch.bsky.social where people around UK record plants in meadows, road verges, churchyards & amenity grassland. Also career change to plants. Read about both in
botanicaluniversitychallenge.co.uk/the-thymes/ #BUC2026

Pictures some BUC teams 2021 and list of team name winners.

Feature of Botanical University Challenge is imaginative names of teams. Most popular ones each year, by public acclaim, get a prize. The current issue of newsletter The Thymes lists winners - but where are they from? Answers on last page! #BUC2026
botanicaluniversitychallenge.co.uk/the-thymes/

Picture elegant green fer. Text about it. https://botanicaluniversitychallenge.co.uk/the-thymes/

🌱🌾🌲🌍🌿🍄🌺🌳🌴🌷🪳🐝🧬🥦 Read about student at Edge Hill University becoming enthusiastic about ferns and describing value of engagement with scientific societies. In The Thymes, newsletter of Botanical University botanicaluniversitychallenge.co.uk/the-thymes/C...

Students at Student Botany Festival 2025. Text about sign-up https://botanicaluniversitychallenge.co.uk/buc2026/

🌱🌾🌲🌍🌿🍄🌺🌳🌴🌷🪳🐝🧬🥦 Botanical University Challenge 2026 #BUC2026 starts on-line 11 February. Teams of 4 students on degree programmes should register by 23 January- deadline extended. See website for more details. botanicaluniversitychallenge.co.uk/buc2026/ @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Students do not have to be on a Plant Sciences degree programme - just any degree programme, keen on plants and willing to work in a group of 4 representing their institution in a plant knowledge quiz. Also team registration date now 23 January. #BUC2026

Text about article in The Thymes https://botanicaluniversitychallenge.co.uk/the-thymes/

Read about the amazing student plant society at Prifysgol Aberystwyth University. Phyteclub - best student society prizes, revitalized glasshouses, brought plants back to prominence. QR code or botanicaluniversitychallenge.co.uk/the-thymes/ #BUC2026 @aberuni.bsky.social

part of The Thymes content

🌱🌾🌲🌍🌿🍄🌳🌴🌷🪳🐝🧬🥦 🧪Content January 2026 The Thymes, newsletter of #BUC2026 ? Includes Lindsay-Anne Heald from BSBI writing about a new initiative to increase wild plant video content on TikTok.

botanicaluniversitychallenge.co.uk/the-thymes/

@bsbibotany.bsky.social

Yes!

Part front page newsletter Botanical University Challenge newsletter The Thymes. New issue January 2026. Download from QR code or at https://botanicaluniversitychallenge.co.uk/the-thymes/

🌱🌾🌲🌍🌿🍄🌺🌳🌴🌷🪳🐝🧬🥦 🧪 Big month for Botanical University Challenge #BUC2026. New issue newsletter The Thymes available QR code or download: botanicaluniversitychallenge.co.uk/the-thymes/

Also new 23 January deadline for university teams UK & Ireland to sign up. Competition starts 11 February!

Map of plant distribution in UK and Ireland. Shows it is present right at the coast almost everywhere, and occasionally inland. Names of 5 plant species it could be. Which one, though. Possible plants are 1.Common Sea Lavender Limonium vulgare; 2. Thrift Armeria maritima; 3. Sea Holly Eryngium maritimum; 4. Cotton grass Eriophorum angustifolium; 5. Common Scurvygrass Cochlearia officinalis agg.

🌱🌾🌲🌍🌿🍄🌺🌳🌴🌷🪳🐝🧬🥦 This botanical question might be more difficult. About distribution of plant species in the UK and Ireland. Which one of the 5 listed do you see right at the coast around almost all the islands of UK and Ireland? #BUC2026

D, Astraea, Greek goddess of justice, is not the name of bog rosemary. Try another, or look at the other answers.

Yes, the systematic name for bog rosemary is Andromeda polifolia. One of the names that Carl Linnaeus assigned.

The answer is d, Liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra).

Picture pale pink bell-shaped flowers, leaves v narrow, dark green. Reddish stems. 5 options for its systematic name. Which is it? Athena, Aphrodite, Andromeda, Astraea, Astalavista. Hint: dragons!

🌱🌾🌲🌍🌿🍄🌺🌳🌴🌷🪳🐝🧬🥦 Here's an interesting question, about bog rosemary. Found in bogs, mainly Wales, northern England, southern Scotland, central Ireland in the UK & Ireland - where bogs still remain. But what is its lovely scientific name? #BUC2026

Yes, and yes!!

What do you think is the answer?

Pictures of plant. Quite large leaves with about 5 large leaflets and a terminal one. Flowers in spike of pale purple pea-flower like ones. Is it a. Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) b. Field bean (Vicia faba) c. Alfalfa/Lucerne (Medicago sativa)d. Liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) e. Soybean (Glycine max)

🌱🌾🌲🌍🌿🍄🌺🌳🌴🌷🪳🐝🧬🥦 What is the name of this commercially important plant? And if you want a second question, which plant family is it in? #BUC2026

leaf at bottom of picture of giant water lily, underside showing strong ribs that support the leaf. Being looked at by 4 students.

Yes, the way the leaves of the giant water lily (Victoria amazonica) are supported is supposed to inspired design of the Crystal Palace. In the picture, students at 2nd Student Botany Festival look at one of these leaves in Oxford Botanic Garden.

It wasn't supposed to be that one, Elephant Ear (Philodendron giganteum) that inspired the design of the Crystal Palace.