Iain Darbyshire

New #GBRedList for vascular plants is published today by a team led by @bsbibotany.bsky.social with partners @naturalengland.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social @naturescot.bsky.social @natreswales.bsky.social @nhm-london.bsky.social @plantlifeintl.bsky.social @rbgkew.bsky.social @thebotanics.bsky.social

It’s so hard to choose a #FavouritePlant for #wildflowerhour but this Moonwort standing guard over various other candidates has won my vote.

A candidate for my #FavouritePlant in the UK this year would be Pasque Flower, seen at two sites in the Chilterns and in the North Downs (the former a part of a reintroduction programme, the latter I suspect planted) - the fruits are almost as impressive as the flowers! #WildflowerHour

Fantastic photos! This is the UK plant I’d most like to see, very jealous.

Wood Cow Wheat in Estonia

A bit of a cheat for my #FavouritePlant for #WildflowerHour but I’ve always wanted to see Wood Cow Wheat (Melampyrum nemorosum, or M. polonicum if treated as separate) and was lucky enough to finally see it growing in 🇪🇪 this summer, so beautiful. @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Historic first nesting of Zitting Cisticola in Britain Zitting Cisticola has bred in Britain for the first time, with the record confirmed at Walberswick NNR, Suffolk, in August 2025. A singing male was joined by a second bird, and by 22 August both were seen feeding at least four fledged juveniles – the first proven nesting of this warbler in Britain. The landmark record follows recent first breeding confirmations of Glossy Ibis and Blyth's Reed Warbler, highlighting rapid shifts in Britain's avian landscape.

Zitting Cisticola has bred in Britain for the first time, with a pair raising young in Suffolk this summer:

Marsh Gentian in the New Forest 23/08/2035

For the #WildflowerHour #GentianFamily challenge, here’s Marsh Gentian Gentiana pneumonanthe which was putting on a great display near Beaulieu in the #NewForest yesterday @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Ruspolia hypocrateriformis at Shai Hills Resource Reserve, Ghana

Shai Hills Resource Reserve, Ghana

Ruspolia hypocrateriformis #Acanthaceae on gneissic rock outcrops at the Shai Hills Resource Reserve, Ghana, an important site for biodiversity so close to Accra. Visited during the 23rd #AETFAT Congress @aetfat2025.bsky.social

Ermias Lulekal (Addis Ababa University University) and Iain Darbyshire (Kew) at the 23rd AETFAT Congress, Accra

Iain Darbyshire (Kew), James Kalema and Samuel Ojelel (Makerere University) at the 23rd AETFAT Congress, Accra

Nomentsoa Randriamamonjy (Kew Madagascar) studying Ruspolia at the Shai Hills, Ghana, on one of the mid-AETFAT Congress tours

Senior delegates at the opening ceremony of the 23rd AETFAT Congress, Accra

Just back from a wonderful week at the 23rd #AETFAT Congress in Accra, meeting so many passionate botanists working on the African flora and its conservation. Huge thanks to Prof Ameka and the @aetfat2025.bsky.social team for such a great event. Next up it’s Côte d’Ivoire 2028!

📢Now advertised📢 - the B.A. Krukoff Curator of African Botany, a 3-yr fulltime research role at @rbgkew.bsky.social careers.kew.org/vacancy/b-a-...
We’re looking for a productive early career taxonomist to join Kew’s Africa team!

A pink sheet of carbon paper, roughly A5 in size. It is a template for 'Post Office Telegraphs' and has been filled in by hand in pencil. It was sent from Bayley Balfour at Trafalgar Square in London to Sir Joseph Hooker at Kew and reads: 'Arrived tonight rather done up from feva ague and long journey shall try and run down tomorrow forenoon shall you be at home'. The paper is bound in a volume with other papers, whose corners and writings are covered underneath.

A printed template which has been completed by hand in ink. The template text reads: 'Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh... As Curator of the Royal Botanic Garden, I beg to convey to you my best acknowledgments for the undermentioned contribution, viz.:' It has been filled in by hand to be dated 'Xmas 1880' and specifies that 'One plant of Begonia Socotrina which is a valuable addition to our collections' was received. It is signed by John Padler and is addressed to John Smith at Kew.

A newspaper cutting adhered to a guard paper in a bound volume. Someone has written in ink the title of the newspaper it has been taken from: 'Egyptian Gazette, Alexandria, 22 June 1880'. The section of the article that has been photographed reads: 'Dr. Schweinfurth, whose departure for Socotra was announced in our columns on 23rd February 1881, returned to Saez on 19th inst. The doctor's account of his trip to Socotra and his stay on the island is highly interesting, and we trust to his kindness to enable us to give our readers some further details later on. In the meantime the following brief notes furnished to us may prove of interest. The doctor made the voyage from Aden to Socotra in a native vessel, he does not appear to have very pleasant recollections of this voyage, which lasted for one month. On the voyage the vessel called at Shugra, Bolhaf, and el Hami, after which the course was set across the Gulf of Aden from Ras Sharma to Socotra. At Socotra Dr Schweinfurth remained for a month, making daily investigations into the rich flora of the [...]. Vegetation is very luxuriant [...].

In 1880, botanist Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour journeyed to the remote island of Socotra - now Yemen - seeking its unique flora.

Our archives preserve his letters, telegraphs & press clippings from the expedition: a window into early plant exploration.

Take a look! 👇

🗃 #KewLA

Important updates on World Flora Online!

NEW! You can now access MILLIONS of our dried plant & fungal specimens via our new Data Portal!

The official release comes as we continue to digitise our entire collection, some of which were collected by Chares Darwin himself! 🌿

Read more & check it out 🧪 www.kew.org/read-and-wat... #PlantScience

Oh, this looks fun!
❤️❤️

Cattle grazing is quite extensive this year so not looking at its best but still plenty of interest.

It’s a really good year for it at Staines Moor too, such a great plant

I would love to see this species!

Plants from Staines Moor 11th May 2025

For #WildflowerHour, a few nice species from #StainesMoor today: Bur Chervil, Bulbous Buttercup, Marsh Marigold, Knotted Hedge Parsley, Pepperwort species, probably Field, and Celery-leaved Buttercup. There were also 5 spp of #speedwell but I forgot to photo any of them! @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

‘Irreplaceable habitat’: planning bill raises fears for England’s chalk streams Environmentalists worry that the post-Brexit legislation will allow the destruction of rare and fragile ecosystems

...The government has also described nature protections as “red tape” that needs to be cut.

Tann said: “Why call that red tape? You wouldn’t call protecting St Paul’s Cathedral red tape.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

An interesting story about the name of the genus Anthospermum in Rubiaceae. doi.org/10.38201/abc...

Hobby, Staines Moor

A cool and blustery morning on #StainesMoor - 3 Garden Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Yellow Wagtail, Cuckoo and this very obliging Hobby the highlights. Plus Roe Deer and Fox. Not much plant-wise, the cattle grazing is quite extensive

Horseshoe Vetch, Ivinghoe Beacon

Bird’s-foot Trefoil, Ivinghoe Beacon

Kidney Vetch, Ivinghoe Beacon

Field Pansy, xxx

Plenty in flower at Ivinghoe Beacon in the Chilterns today - here some yellow offerings: Horseshoe Vetch, Bird’s-foot Trefoil, Kidney Vetch and Field Pansy #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Common Gromwell, Ivinghoe Beacon

For #wildflowerhour, Common Gromwell (Lithospermum officinale) near Ivinghoe Beacon, not really a #HighUpPlant but about as high as the Chilterns get! I’ve never seen this species as abundant as in one small area of the hillside here. @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Beyond shameless. Just treating its own readers with absolute contempt.

The surprisingly tricky art of seed banking To safeguard threatened plants, science must unravel the hidden biology of often-persnickety seeds as they age, sleep and awaken

Seed banking is crucial to safeguarding threatened plants from extinction, but seeds can be surprisingly fussy, as I learned in my latest for @knowablemag.bsky.social ☘️🌱🌳🌼🌺

Featuring @naomibot.bsky.social @rbgkew.bsky.social #plantconservation #botanicalgardens

knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...

⚠️📢 African botanists and conservationists 📢 ⚠️- the 23rd #AETFAT African Plants Congress takes place on 3-8 August 2025 in Accra, Ghana. Abstract submission is extended until 1st May. This is an unmissable event if you’re interested in the African flora!! aetfat.ug.edu.gh
@aetfat2025.bsky.social

Pollen diversity in Barlerieae

Summary RADseq phylogeny of Barlerieae

📢 We have a new study out in Taxon, exploring phylogenetic relationships in the tribe Barlerieae of #Acanthaceae using RADseq data, laying the groundwork for a revised classification of this fascinating group of ca. 500 tropical species. Led by Robert Comito. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

One of the most fascinating #woodlandplants, parasitic toothwort (Lathraea squamaria) flowering under hazel, its common host. It has scales instead of leaves, lacks chlorophyll and obtains nutrients from host tree roots. Delighted to find several clumps after weeks of search! #wildflowerhour

I didn’t have much success with the #woodlandplants challenge this week, but here’s a nice flowering Dog’s Mercury (Mercurialis perennis) from the Chilterns chalk #wildflowerhour
@wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Pasqueflower (Pulsatilla vulgaris) was in full flower today in the Chilterns - this is an introduced population for BBOWT’s species recovery programme. #wildflowerhour
@wildflowerhour.bsky.social