Lurking in the Basement: specimens collected in Southern India in 1853 rediscovered

In September 2024 Lesley Scott exhumed a slightly sinister box from the RBGE Long Store. It contained a bundle of unmounted specimens and was labelled: “Flora of India….

Will generative AI lead to the zombie name apocalypse?

An online discussion about exchanging seeds of a new species called Meconopsis jiajinshanensis led to the Chinese botanical website iplant.cn and the page for Meconopsis balangensis var. atrata….

Towards 3 million: The common daisy – Bellis perennis

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…

My journey as a Biodiversity Ambassador

By Isabella Luciani When I first applied for the Biodiversity Ambassador Traineeship, I saw it as a great opportunity to gain hands-on community engagement experience as well as…

Wilding Garden trials – small cow-wheat

The Garden is now being used as a test bed to explore some of the challenges and unanswered questions involved in returning threatened Scottish plants to wild sites….

Towards 3 million: An update on Forrest’s Giant Rhododendron

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…

Miseonnamu and Me: Becoming a Biodiversity Ambassador

By Zoe Lorimer Biodiversity is more than just a scientific concept—it is deeply personal, cultural, and historical. For many of us, nature is intertwined with our identities, memories,…

Weeding moss

Weeding moss might sound like the endless battle that some people engage in to maintain their lawns and block paving in immaculate condition. Today I stumbled across a…

Towards 3 million: Umbelliferae

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: Bignoniaceae

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…

The four temptations of synonymy

It is much easier to find an image to illustrate a story about sin than it is to find one to illustrate synonymy and those sinful images are…

A second chance

Trees in general, and wych elms (Ulmus glabra) in particular, are being given a second chance in the dramatic landscape of Assynt. Land owned by both the community…

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…