Restoring a fern wiped out by collectors and botanists

Oblong woodsia (Woodsia ilvensis), a small, rare mountain fern, was virtually wiped out in the Moffat Hills by commercial collectors responding to the Victorian craze for ferns –…

Growing Connections: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and The National Botanic Gardens of Ireland.

The sharing of plants between botanic gardens has long been an essential tool in the cultivation and display of the world’s rare and threatened flora. The plants generously…

Bird burglar caught in the act

Burglary at the Botanics may sound shocking but every spring there is an outbreak of crime. The burglars go about their business with impunity in broad daylight and…

Towards 3 million specimens: Primula vulgaris: A Herald of Spring

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…

Towards 3 million specimens: Digitising Plantaginaceae

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

Increasing knowledge of Apocynaceae in the seasonally dry tropical forests of the Marañón

In the tropics, there is an important but undervalued ecosystem – Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest (SDTF). The extremely dry climate found in the SDTF results in plants with…

Towards 3 million specimens: Digitising Phyllanthaceae

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

Seedlings of hope

On Thursday 25 January 2024, 43 people gathered at the Little Assynt Tree Nursery, near Lochinver, making a hopeful start to the year by planting elm trees. Elms…

Common is rare and rare is common

A study published in the journal Nature led by colleagues at University College London using data generated by hundreds of scientists from around the world including at RBGE…

Towards 3 million specimens: Digitising Amaryllidaceae & Alliaceae

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

Redefining Aneura maxima and other Pellia-like Aneura

It seems that not only are the North American Aneura sharpii, the east Asian Aneura pellioides and the south-east Asian Aneura maxima all distinct species, but there are also two Pellia-like Aneura species in Europe.

Tidying up in Aneura

We have chosen a lectoype for Riccardia fuscovirens Lindb. (i.e., a type specimen that is chosen after a name has been published, but from the original specimens or illustrations that the author of the name would have been influenced by when they were first recognizing the taxon)

Day 12: Twelve drummers drumming – Aulacomnium androgynum, Drumsticks

Our specimen of Aulacomnium androgynum, a moss given the common name “Drumsticks”, was collected for the Darwin Tree of Life project by Dr David Bell on Hatfield Moors, southwest Yorkshire, on the 13th June 2023.

Day 11: Eleven pipers piping – Hylocomiadelphus triquetrus, Pipe-cleaner moss

Hylocomiadelphus triquetrus (Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus) has ‘pipe-cleaner moss’ among its many common names. It was collected for the Darwin Tree of Life project by Dr David Bell and Dr Liz Kungu, by the path to the chapel at Dawyk Botanic Garden, on the 1st October 2020.

Planting healthy

…biosecurity has become central to conservation in recent years and the benefits of investing time and resource into producing biosecure plants will pay dividends… Matt Elliot, RBGE plant…

The Indian botanical drawings reproduced in Ocean Flowers

In Spring 2004 a memorable exhibition curated by Carol Armstrong and Catherine de Zegher was shown at the Drawing Center in New York, and later that year at…

Garden Highlights 2023

It has certainly been another busy and productive year in the garden for everyone working at The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE). A garden is never static, it…

Towards 3 million specimens: Ilex aquifolium: A Symbol of Christmas and Beyond

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…

Day 10: Ten lords a-leaping – Arum maculatum, Lords and ladies

Arum maculatum – Lords and ladies – was collected for the Darwin Tree of Life project by Dr Maarten Christenhusz (Royal Botanic Garden Kew) on the 27th April 2021, on Petersham common, a conserved woodland in Greater London.

Day 9: Nine ladies dancing – Alchemilla alpina, the alpine Lady’s mantle

Alchemilla alpina, the alpine Lady’s mantle was collected for the Darwin Tree of Life project by Dr Markus Ruhsam from a rock ledge on Ben Lawers, on the 16th June 2021.