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…

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 & Cercidiphyllaceae  

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…

Towards 3 million: Burseraceae

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

Small Spaces, Big Impact: Helping Edinburgh’s Pollinators

Since May of this year I have had the pleasure of surveying plants and pollinators in central Edinburgh as part of a joint project between the charity Pollinating…

Botanical Drawings made for Nathaniel Wallich at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

H.J. Noltie When the museum and library of the East India Company (EIC), following its inheritance by the India Office of the British government, was dispersed in 1879…

Towards 3 million: Reef Point Gardens

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

Viral or Cultural? A Mini Experimental Trial on Polygonatum Verticillatum

The NRF (Nature Restoration Fund) Scottish Plant Recovery Project at RBGE aims to restore genetically diverse populations of our endangered Scottish native plants around the country. Whilst rewarding,…

Towards 3 million: Anacardiaceae

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

Unearthing the secrets of the One-flowered Wintergreen

Deep within Scottish pine woods, nestled between humid mossy carpets and scattered pine brash on the forest floor, the story of a tiny, unassuming plant: the One-flowered Wintergreen (Moneses uniflora), is beginning to unfold. Beneath its solitary, nodding white flower, and small rosetted leaves, lies a hidden, intricate survival strategy sheathed within the soil.