Author: Max ColemanPage 6 of 9
Over a 24 hour period from 5pm on the 24th July 2015 naturalists and the public joined forces to record as much wildlife as possible at Dawyck Botanic…
A recent case of severe skin burns in a 10 year old caused by exposure to the sap of giant hogweed is a reminder that plants can be…
One of the difficulties with studying the wild ancestors of domesticated food plants is knowing if plants are truely wild? Domesticated plants will generally inter-breed quite happily with…
New Reekie is still drawing a crowd even though it is now begining to look past its best. Today (30th June 2015) the skirt-like spathe that wraps around…
On Monday 29th June New Reekie is still looking good on the third day of flowering so there is time to introduce some of the family that you…
The first flowering in Scotland of the world’s largest “flower” is something to celebrate. So what better tipple than the wine produced by the decendants of the plants…
A small army of staff and volunteers, dubbed the ‘Titan Arum Army’, is sweltering alongside New Reekie to help explain this extraordinary tropical plant to visitors. However, heat…
Being the largest flower head is one of the titan arum’s claims to fame. The Guinness World Record height for this species is an impressive 3.1 metres, so…
Summer 2015 will see an exciting botanical first for Scotland when the titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) flowers at the Botanics. This native of the Sumatran rainforest has been…
The New to Science blog is a regular post about new plant species as they are being named, described and published for the first time. The only requirements…
Finally the weather is warming up and seed sowing for the 2015 set of Really Wild Veg trials is now complete. This project, now in its third season,…
An internet search for Sutherland kale produces quite a lot of hits. This leafy brassica seems to be a bit of a sensation among foody types looking for…
It might come as a surprise to learn that the discovery of species new to science is a regular occurance for scientists exploring plant diversity. At the Botanics…
Watching bees visitng flowers is something to look forward to in the run up to spring. Their choices are far from random and they will specialise in whatever…
The trees planted adjacent to the coffee shop at the East Gate Lodge include three species found only on Arran on the west coast of Scotland. The origin…
Forked spleenwort (Asplenium septentrionale) is one of Britains oddest looking ferns. The narrow forking fronds look similar to some seaweeds. The way that the fronds droop from rock…
Autumn is the time when gardeners are planning the next year’s planting. The Really Wild Veg project will hopefully run again in 2015 and some initial research has…
Well alright not real hummingbirds. The closest thing we have in Britain is the equally spectacular humming-bird hawk-moth. This extraordinary day-flying moth put in an appearance in the…
To round off the Really Wild Veg project for 2014 here is a selection of images taken throughout the year. It has been the inevitable mix of successes…
The Really Wild Veg project growing trials have been looking at how plants have been changed by domestication by growing crop wild relatives alongside domesticated equivalents. Comparing the…