Big Meadow Search

Hard-fern, Blechnum spicant. Two types of leaves. Fertile (F) fronds arise from centre of plant & grow up to 75cm. Pinnae are narrow and widely spaced. Their underside have brown linear spore bearing sori. Sterile (S) leaves up to 60cm, glossy with close together, linear pinnae

It’s easy to forget that when you see it regularly walking the dog!

Hart’s-tongue, Asplenium scolopendrium. Shiny. Strap shaped leaves up to 6cm wide with cordate base and distinct midrib. Each vein ends in submarginal hydathode. Petiole up to 30cm and scaly

Interesting to read Heather is on the red data list in that part of the world

White Clover, Trifolium repens. Very variable. Up to 50cm. Roots at the nodes and forms mats. Leaves on long stalks. Leaflets up to 30mm, finely toothed with 5-20 teeth per side. Usually with pale chevron near the base.

Morphology of extant conifer seed cones.

#Evolution of #conifer seed cones

📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#TansleyReview by @kmatsunaga

@WileyPlantSci #PlantScience

Pictures from University of Southampton research on plants - crops, evolution & genetics, photosynthesis & cell biology. Photos related to cabbage domestication, moths as cabbage pests, CRISPR barley, drought tolerant lablab beans

🌱🌾🌍🌺🍄🧪🌳🐝Botanical University Challenge 2026! Teams universities & plant-related institutions UK & Ireland starting to sign-up. University Southampton has competed most years since BUC started 2016! Look out what is happening at your university or organisation. #BUC2026 @unisouthampton.bsky.social

Photo credit: 'Bulbous Buttercup (Ranunculus bulbosus), Dunnet Links, Caithness' by Alistair Whyte

Plant ID apps: how useful are they?

In this week's @bsbibotany.bsky.social webinar, Hamlyn Jones demonstrates, reviews & compares free plant ID #apps, and their suitability for different applications - from citizen science to academia.

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

@daera-ni.gov.uk #plants

Ononis repens – December 8th 2025 – Common Restharrow Once a weed, now a cherished native

Botanical Society of Scotland’s Species of the Week: Common Restharrow

botsoc.scot/2025/12/07/o...

Red Clover, Trifolium pratense. Leaves hairy below and often above. 3-leaflets each up to 30mm long and often with white chevron. Petiole variable: hairy-hairless.

Thanks for sharing that. I wonder if others will follow suit 🤔

#wildflowerhour folk, I have just looked at the flowering time stated in my 1972 Keble Martin, The Concise British Flora and that also says May-Aug. I wonder if it will say the same in another 53 years?

For #wildflowerhour this week it is a Heath Speedwell that hasn’t read Harrap’s Wild Flowers. Out of interest, are the flowering periods mentioned in books getting adjusted in new editions with climate changes 🤔

Brooklime, Veronica beccabunga. Up to 60cm. Patch-forming. Hairless. Fleshy leaves and stems. Roots at the stem nodes. Leaves opposite, short-stalked and with shallow, blunt teeth

The British Lichen Society photo competition is open to all. The themes this year are ‘Under the microscope’ and ‘The bigger picture’. Find the full details at the bottom of our AGM Weekend page. Judging will take place by popular vote during this event. britishlichensociety.org.uk/the-society/...

I mentioned ‘elastic stele’ in my earlier post. Below is definition & video to demonstrate (Video shows it on Bog Stitchwort).
Stele: the central core of the stem containing the vascular system (xylem and phloem).
From the Greek ‘stele’ for pillar.

Opposite-leaved Golden Saxifrage, Chrysosplenium oppositifolium. Mat forming. Evergreen. Hairy stem and sparsely hairy leaves. Opposite pairs of short-stalked rounded leaves up to 20mm. Up to 7 blunt teeth per leaf edge. Channelled petiole. Elastic stele

Nipplewort, Lapsana communis. Basal rosette: Hairy, stalked, toothed leaves up to 15cm long. Large terminal leaf lobe and 1-3 pairs of smaller lateral lobes

Forgot to say £10 each. £2.70 postage for one, £3.90 for two

Malva arborea – December 1st 2025 – Tree Mallow Tree Mallow but not really a tree

Botanical Society of Scotland’s Plant of the Week: Tree Mallow

botsoc.scot/2025/11/30/m...

Stuck for Christmas gift ideas…. how about a Big Meadow Search book? 🤔😉🤓
2 volumes compiled from the project’s social media posts. Bk: 1 covers grassland indicator species with a range of associated species whilst Bk 2 has >200 different species, again with associated species

Window now open to apply for a BSBI grant for 2025!
We offer grants for short #WildFlowerID courses (our online course Identiplant & courses from external providers), for Plant Study & Research.
Our Grants page also lists other grants that we think might be of interest to botanists:
bsbi.org/grants

Cleavers, Galium aparine. Leaves in whorls of 6-8. Bristly hairs above. Prickles (can be strongly curved) below. Stems up to 3mm wide, retrorsely scabrid (rough hairs curved back or down) on stem angles.

Bramble, Rubus fruticosus agg. 5-angled stem (most noticeable when young). Leaves have 3-7 leaflets measuring 4-12cm with serrated margin. Hairy (often lost in older plants)

Daisy, Bellis perennis. Basal leaves only. Sparsely hairy, crenate leaf margin, typically with 4-5 teeth per side. Midrib raised below. Petioles winged.

I don’t mind the smell, does that make me a weirdo?! Can see why one of the local colloquial names is ‘Stinky Bob’

Here we go with the first vegetative ID species tips for December:
Herb Robert, Geranium robertianum. Strong smell when rubbed. Hairy. Leaves deeply cut into 3-5 leaflets each of which is also deeply cut. Red-tipped glandular hairs on leaf stalks

It’s a hardy Common Knapweed from frosty Carmarthenshire for this week’s #wildflowerhour

Paul’s tips for promoting botanical education: 1 Make it enjoyable 2 Make it intellectually stimulating 3 Field work 4 Communicate widely.

#WildMarsh is looking for collaborators & field sites!

We’re prepping a Europe-wide study for spring/summer 2026 to explore how trophic #rewilding influences #saltmarsh resilience.

Let us know about salt marsh areas with large grazers, e.g. water buffalo, deer, moose, wild boar, cattle, sheep,etc.