The Scottish native wild apple (Malus sylvestris), like the Scottish wild cat, could be regarded as being under threat from interbreeding with its domesticated counterpart. In the cat’s…
The garden becomes a feeding ground for the Grey Squirrel population as they discover the young shoots of emerging Crocus. The appetite is however for the brown corm…
The Think Plastic- materials and making exhibition which has just opened is a collaboration between artists Lorna Fraser, Carol Sinclair, Fiona Hutchison, Fiona Pilgrim and Carla Edwards and…
It’s a new year and time to announce our ‘Meet the Gardener’ sessions as part of the Edible Gardening project
Flowers set on bare branches are a delight in winter, but there are also some evergreen plants that flower. They are a great comfort to the soul during…
Winter storms and ageing fence posts and panels are not good companions. This is the time to replace your garden fence and what better way than to plant…
At the core of RBGE’s scientific mission is to “explore” the world of plants and on the 350th anniversary of our foundation, the herbarium’s 3 million specimens from…
These images are of one of the white stemmed brambles that since leaf fall are now more obvious in the border. The white indumentum over ruddy brown stems…
Today in the staff conference Simon was asked the number of threatened plants that the RBGE is growing. This is a dynamic figure as plants at the RBGE…
Now well established in the Copse is the evergreen Vinca difformis. Straggly bootlace shoots are sent out over ground at a rate of knots. Occasionally rooting down at…
The simple thalloid liverwort Aneura has become a flagship genus for DNA barcoding at RBGE. Only a single widespread species, Aneura pinguis, is traditionally recognized in the UK,…
1914-1919 The Service Roll is different from the Roll of Honour in that it shows the names & a short statement of service of all members of staff…
We Will Remember Them Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh Roll of Honour, 1914–1919 At the outbreak of war in August 1914 the appeal for H.M. Forces met with ready…
December 2019 at RBGE gave the impression of being somewhat dull and wet although the graphs do not bear this out. Total rainfall was 52.4 mm, most of…
Today we have reached a new landmark with half a million herbarium specimens imaged and freely available online on our herbarium catalogue.
A recently described moss, Sphagnum divinum, the Divine Bog-moss, has been discovered in Britain and Ireland, though the only Scottish site yet found has sadly been lost. Its taxonomic discovery has a long history, starting over 250 years ago with a French explorer in southern South America.
All plants have stories. The Botanics over its 350 years has managed to create many, from intrepid tales of plant hunters to discovering plants new to science. Some…
Much of the work to be done in the garden at this time of year produces quantities of pruning’s and other green resource material. Note the use of…
This unassuming section of trunk was sitting on a desk in the herbarium office after being “discovered” in the back of a carpological cupboard. It arrived in our…
Works on the Temperate Palmhouse to repair the glazing bars and replace broken glass has reached the halfway point. The North and East elevations have been completed and…