Flora Conservation UK

Soil is a living system, not just dirt to grow plants in.

Cobalt crust fungus brightening up a dull morning. Coed Lletywalter Llanbedr.
#fungifriends

A vibrant blue crust fungus on a dead tree branch. The crust covers most of the branch, but there are gaps showing the bark

Since I saw a picture in a book a couple of years ago, I’ve been looking all over the place for Cobalt Crust. I finally spotted it in a neighbour’s front garden this afternoon!

What an amazing colour 💙

I wonder how many times I’ve walked past it 🍄‍🟫

#FungiFriday #FungiFriends
#DailyNature #Fungi

Waxcap 24 - Snowy Waxcap (Cuphophyllus virgineus). Our commonest white species. Very variable and multiple named forms but always with strongly decurrent gills and no obvious smell.

Love is with you always.
It is a 🌈 in a dark night, shining bright with colours.
Arise, 🌈, Arise.
Banish the night and reign.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Descriptions and/or photos are required for a number of Essex rarities from 2024. The full list can be found at ebws.org.uk/2024descript...

If you saw any of these, please submit a description - there's a video on the link that explains more.

Thank you

#essexbirding

Downy woodpecker entangled in plastic artificial decorative Halloween spider webs.

What frightens me most about Halloween cobwebs isn’t how they look…..it’s that they catch the living.
Enjoy the season, but keep the plastic webs indoors; or skip them altogether.

A brown beetle stands on sand. There are white curly lines on the elytra scribbled in from the lateral margins. When you look closely at the brown parts of the elytra, thorax and head you see red and green iridescent sparkles

The Bronzed Tiger Beetles (Cicindela repanda) scampering along the Mississippi River beaches have subtle iridescent colors when you look closely.

Last few days to apply for this great post in #NorthernIreland! Please spread the word to the botanists and ecologists you know. @organicbotanic.bsky.social @bitheolaidhe.bsky.social @martinebrennan.bsky.social @donnarainey4.bsky.social @bto-ni.bsky.social @ulsterwildlife.bsky.social #Irishbotany

Young birders complete 200 mile charity cycle across Wales Three young birdwatchers have raised and donated £1,112 to a charity close to their hearts, after completing a five-day Welsh cycling tour. After meeting on a Youth Camp in Pembrokeshire in 2024, orga...

Three young birdwatchers have raised and donated £1,112 to a charity close to their hearts, after completing a five-day Welsh cycling tour

Streams of medicines: how Switzerland cleaned up its act – podcast In the second of a two part series, Phoebe Weston travels to Switzerland to find out how the country has transformed its rivers, from sewage-filled health hazards to pristine swimming spots. She tells...

In Switzerland, they've introduced tertiary treatment of sewage and are reaping the rewards of cleaner rivers + lakes.

4/5
www.theguardian.com/science/audi...

Most likely a hybrid Orache, one of hundreds of a hybrid swarm, probably Atriplex x taschereaui with Atriplex glabriuscula nearby, but no sign (as usual) of A. longipes. Cargreen Cornwall. Common on the highest tide lines in estuaries here, often mistaken for Spear Lvd Orache.

Yes, you are right. It is happening here, too.

Can't imagine that Gentiana could survive this for more than a couple of years. At least I know many chalk grassland sites with similar management and no Gentiana which was widerspread once.

Out of interest, are the leaf rosettes emerging with the flower spikes? I noticed the leaves are coming through on a damper lawn in Bournemouth - but not on the dry turf in the New Forest.

Some very important observations. Would be interesting if permanent?

Ein sicherer Weg, in diesem nordwestdeutschen Heidemoor die letzten 10 Pflänzchen Lungenenzian zu eliminieren, besteht darin, rotierende Schafskoppelweide einzurichten. Da bleibt garantiert keine Blütenpflanze außer Pfeifengras mehr stehen und nach 10 Jahren fragt man sich, warum der Enzian weg ist.

Last Sunday the Cornwall botany Group found Turkish Stonecrop growing on the recently mown grassy ramparts of a fort built in 1860 at Cawsand. Only the 3rd record for Cornwall and the 9th UK record. It's not in Stace or Sell & Murrell, though the 1st record was in 2008 from Devon.

Sedum pallidum

The strange and wonderful Vapourer moth caterpillar on my willow. So many fashionable features it should be on a catwalk! #moths #teammoth @savebutterflies.bsky.social

They are amazing. I had a buff tip on the drive today. Relocated to a safe place, of course.

It's a good photo. Clear shot of proboscis. Clouded yellow feeding on nectar of dandelion.

Good afternoon Bluesky. Urban landscape.

Perennial knauwel plant

Perennial knauwel seen on yesterday's Norfolk Flora group meeting @bsbibotany.bsky.social #wildflowerhour

Two weeks to go!
Pythefnos i fynd!

Indonesia new programme targets 100GW solar PV, 320GWh BESS The government of Indonesia has launched a programme that aims to build 100GW of solar PV and 320GWh BESS in the coming years.

Indonesia starts a program to deploy 100 GW of solar and 320 GW of battery storage, with 80 GW in 80,000 villages. Wow!

Solar brings cheap, clean power to places with little electricity.

It combats energy poverty more than any other generation tech.
www.pv-tech.org/indonesia-ta... #energyflak

Nationale wespentelling - Wespenstichting Doe mee met de jaarlijkse Nationale Wespentelling. Help de Wespenstichting bij het tellen van wespen in Nederland. Jouw bijdrage telt!

De zon gaat schijnen dus vandaag gaan we de wespen tellen in de tuin.
wespenstichting.nl/wespentelling/

Thanks, Martin.

@bbcbreaking-bot.bsky.social

Standing in the middle of a river. River Wye at Builth disappearing!
Elisabeth Harris

Get outside and get recording in Chiswick this summer for the chance to win a £50 voucher for Hilliers Garden Centre in WildChiswick's Species Recording competition. Records will be shared with GiGL so it's a win for nature too! wildchiswick.com/naturesurvey/

Biddy Baxter’s love for nature helped the very first Big Garden Birdwatch take flight in 1979.

By sharing it with Blue Peter viewers, she inspired over 34,000 children to take part , launching a tradition that’s still connecting people with nature today.

A true pioneer. Thank you, Biddy. 💚