Toothworts (Lathraea: family Orobanchaceae) are a small genus of parasitic plant. Two species – one native, the other introduced – occur in Britain and both are currently (April…
Failure of Nothofagus betuloides branch due to wood decay in the Secret Garden
A chance encounter with a Japanese Serow made this collection of Cirsium purpuratum in 2013 especially memorable.
Nature writing can begin with a sense of wonder and curiosity about the world. We have brought together a diverse group of writers for our first Botanics nature…
Considering the cold weather that has characterised early April the new foliage on Primula sieboldii ‘Fantasy’ has emerged with its usual fresh appearance. The foliage has a deeply…
Edinburgh Gin has teamed up with RBGE to create a limited edition Gin. The Gin is made with plants from The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Most of the…
In many ways the weather of March 2018 was the reverse of February. A common factor was that both months were colder than average. However, in contrast to…
The definite article is important: the feature referred to, part of a gigantic designed landscape at the gateway to the Scottish Highlands, is romantic rather than peculiar. The…
When we arrived at Blair Castle, we were met by a 15-foot-high steel gate, complete with shiny padlock. It opened on Easter weekend – a week away…
A huge mass of Osmunda regalis has been dug out on its eighteenth anniversary, see attached image. A mass of fibrous root is a characteristic of this terrestrial…
While browsing our Rare Book Collection, we recently came across a boxed book that was as of yet uncatalogued in our online system, Kurtzes Handbüchlein und Experiment vieler…
Paolo Boccone’s Recherches et Observations Naturelles de Monsieur BOCCONE, Gentilhomme Sicilien…, published in the translated French in 1674 in Amsterdam, offers several tantalizing clues of provenance to the…
During the Plantsmanship course, we were given the task of proposing a concept to improve the accessibility of the RBGE collection. RBGE is diversely accessible to a multitude…
Forsythia giraldiana a wild collected species from China produces a delicate scent from butter yellow flowers on deciduous wood. In other areas of the garden the ground flora…
Quality and quantity of DNA recovered from stored plant material is becoming more important as DNA sequencing technologies change from the relatively simple Sanger sequencing, to next generation…
Why is so much good children’s theatre in Edinburgh on during August when our children are going back to school? This year the Botanics is bringing top quality…
Keen to see the effects of different specimen preservation techniques on DNA quantity and quality, we have assessed extractions of DNA from nine Begonia accessions x seven preservation…
At its inception by the Campbells over a century ago, Crarae Gardens’ Reginald Farrer was plant hunting across the world in China, Nepal, and Tibet, creating Britain’s best…
Rhubarb seed sown in the spring of 2017 germinated and the resultant seedlings were set out in the south facing market garden area. These rootstocks, dormant through the…
The Plantsmanship course at RBGE encompasses a magnitude of topics. Accompanied with SRUC and University of Edinburgh this course offers complete immersion into the plant world. Few courses…