Cataloguing Catalogues!

By David Soden and Jill Tivey. The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Library … Four tall, metal cabinets. The sort common in offices, often filled with stationery items or…

A homecoming in the Borders

My visit to assess the potential for wych elm (Ulmus glabra) planting on land owned by the Borders Forest Trust will pave the way for a homecoming of…

Towards 3 million: Violaceae

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…

“C” is for Cerrado: The Jimmy Ratter Archives

In November 2024, a one-month project funded by the Sibbald Trust aimed to create a top-level finding list for the archives of the late RBGE botanist, Jimmy Ratter….

Restoring nature at Balmoral

As its winding course runs past Balmoral Castle the River Dee is flanked by a mix of farmland and woodland. Much of the woodland is composed of majestic…

Towards 3 million: Oleaceae

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

Restoring salmon elms in Caithness

‘It’s not necessarily about fishing, just knowing the salmon are there is what matters’, explains Anson Macauslan, estate manager at Braemore & Langwell Estate, as he drives me…

In memoriam John Dickie (1941-2024)

These reflections on the life of John Dickie were written by RBGE Library Research Associate Jane Corrie, 20.1.2025 John Dickie (holding the banner in this photograph) died very…

Towards 3 million: Verbenaceae

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

There are more plant taxonomists today than there have ever been

In a previous post I proposed that the rate of plant species discovery had not significantly changed in the last fifty years despite enormous changes in technology. A…

Stories from the Biomes: Return of the Giants

Over the summer of 2024, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh welcomed the return of one of the plant world’s most spectacular plants: the giant Victoria water lilies, specifically…

Molecular biology and the internet have had no effect on the rate of plant species discovery

The title is somewhat clickbaity but probably correct. Working on the World Flora Online Plant List means we are continuously processing and reprocessing a list of all known…

Postcard from the Biomes: A Blank Slate

Explore more Botanic Stories covering the Ferns and Fossils Glasshouse decant below. Stories from the Biomes: Fern House decant begins – Botanics Stories Stories from the Biomes: The…

Elm in its place

A story that is told in pictures alone is somehow very satisfying. Nobody needs to be a wordsmith to get the message across. When Chris Puddephatt sent me…

Translocating resilience

Assisting the migration of plants is something that has already been carried out in a limited way to help them respond to climate change. The concern is that…

Towards 3 Million: Hypericaceae

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…

Homonym means “different name” NOT “same name”

This is the third post in a series about the Taxon Name Linking Service project. My last post was titled “Why Latin names just aren’t good enough anymore“….

The Indian botanical work of Michael Pakenham Edgeworth (1812–1881)

H.J. Noltie Introduction Michael Pakenham Edgeworth came from a cultured and distinguished Irish family. The the last of 22 children of the polyphiloprogenitive Richard Lovell Edgeworth (1744–1817) by…

Towards 3 million: Orobanchaceae

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

William Somervell Mitchell, East India Company surgeon, and briefly Madras Naturalist

Born Lamington, 2 May 1780; died Madras, 24 November 1819 When discussing the collectors of the ‘Wallich’ Herbarium, William Somervell Mitchell was not included as his collections were…