In the heart of the Edinburgh Festival, a new bee species for Scotland!

Habitats, plants, insects, and people—there are constant reminders that the ecosystem is connected in unexpected ways. During the summer of 2025 I surveyed plants and pollinators across 31…

Towards 3 million: Iteaceae

The following blog was written by Becky Camfield a digitiser in the Herbarium. Since 2021 we have increased our digitisation capacity reaching 1 million specimens imaged in August…

Resurrecting the Fern; Looking Back At Our Woodsia Translocations

Translocations are, by their very nature, complex and demanding undertakings – something our team knows all too well. Challenges such as logistics, limited time, unpredictable weather, difficult terrain,…

Towards 3 million: Cercidiphyllaceae & Paeoniaceae

The following blog was written by Becky Camfield a digitiser in the Herbarium. Since 2021 we have increased our digitisation capacity reaching 1 million specimens imaged in August…

Four Weeks, Three Species, One Mission: A Riparian Rescue

In the months of October and November 2025, the NRF Scottish Plant Recovery team carried out a series of translocations which challenged us logistically, mentally and physically and…

Towards 3 million: Travelling lichens

The following blog was written by Natalie Zarte a digitiser in the Herbarium. Since 2021 we have increased our digitisation capacity reaching 1 million specimens imaged in August…

In Memory of Robert J. Mitchell M.B.E., S.D.H., D.H.E, S.H.M., M.Sc., M.I. Biol.

Bob, as he was known to all, was born in Selkirk in 1936 and commenced his gardening career at the East of Scotland College of Agriculture in 1955. In 1957…

Edinburgh’s Living Landscape: People and nature at the heart of the city 

People an nature at the heart of the city

Towards 3 million: The Thistle – Cirsium vulgare & Onopordum acanthium

The following blog was written by Courtney Kemnitz a digitiser in the Herbarium. Since 2021 we have increased our digitisation capacity with the goal of getting to 1…

Scaffolding for Scientific Knowledge – the Nomenclatural Checklist

A checklist of the plant family Putranjivaceae has just been published in the Edinburgh Journal of Botany (Quintanar et al. 2025). It’s a list of all the species…

An enigmatic hybrid paeony: smoutii or smouthii?

Lady Emma Tennant who takes a deep interest in the history of the plants she paints asked me what appeared a simple request: to look into the etymology…

What Makes a Good City?

When you think about a “good city,” what comes to mind? Parks and green spaces? Shops and cinemas? Safe streets? Opportunities for everyone? Recently, I had the privilege…

Routes to Roots

Routes to Roots brought artists and collections staff together at RBGE to ask what meaningful collaboration inside botanic institutions looks like, and what artists need in order to work well with living and preserved collections.

Towards 3 million: British Basidiomycota

The following blog was written by Chris Knowles a digitiser in the Herbarium. Since 2021 we have increased our digitisation capacity reaching 1 million specimens imaged in August…

Towards 3 million: Lichens on unusual substrates

The following blog was written by Natalie Zarte a digitiser in the Herbarium. Since 2021 we have increased our digitisation capacity reaching 1 million specimens imaged in August…

Stories from the Biomes: House 3 to House 5 

Throughout the summer preparations have taken place across the relevant Glasshouses for the manoeuvre and removal of the large plants destined for the Palm Houses with hard relandscaping, design planning and large-scale repotting to name a few. 

Towards 3 million: Primulaceae

The following blog was written by Rose Kent a digitiser in the Herbarium. Since 2021 we have increased our digitisation capacity reaching 1 million specimens imaged in August…

The Biodiversity Potential of Tree Species

This article was written by Eloise Fenton, graduate of the 2024/2025 RBGE Masters programme in Biodiversity and Taxonomy of Plants. Building on the role of urban trees in…

Towards 3 million: Hamamelidaceae 

The following blog was written by Becky Camfield a digitiser in the Herbarium. Since 2021 we have increased our digitisation capacity reaching 1 million specimens imaged in August…

Towards 3 million: Buxaceae

The following blog was written by Becky Camfield a digitiser in the Herbarium. Since 2021 we have increased our digitisation capacity reaching 1 million specimens imaged in August…