Category: SciencePage 1 of 26
Latest science blog posts from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
On the 17 and 18 June 2022 naturalists and the public came together at Little Sparta, a garden in the Pentland Hills 25 miles southwest of Edinburgh, to…
The artist Ian Hamilton Finlay created a garden in the hills near Biggar that he called Little Sparta in response to the characterization of Edinburgh as the Athens…
Essential empirical data for effective ecological restoration. Human activity can have both positive and negative impacts on biodiversity, often playing out over long timescales. Professor Kirsty Park’s research…
We assign human qualities to animals without a second thought. The wise owl and the cunning fox will produce a smile, even though we know this is just…
In an age where 40% of the world’s plants are faced with extinction, the recording of data is more important now than ever. Documenting, describing, and researching the properties of plants enhances their chances of survival; how can we protect what we don’t know we have?
A radical approach to forest degradation and destruction. The role of plantation agriculture in deforestation – and hence biodiversity loss and climate catastrophe – has been widely publicised,…
Exploring open ecosystems through a lens of environmental and social justice. Dr Caroline Lehmann describes her research as a “bridge between evolutionary and ecological science to understand the…
In the run-up to the global biodiversity conference, COP15, we present a series of posts in partnership with Scottish Government and NatureScot, showcasing Scotland’s innovative, high-impact research supporting…
In the run-up to the global biodiversity conference, COP15, we present a series of posts in partnership with Scottish Government and NatureScot, showcasing Scotland’s innovative, high-impact research supporting…
A collaborative effort has seen the complete digitisation of herbarium specimens of vascular plants from Myanmar, complemented by data standardisation and georeferencing.
Every day, hundreds of visitors pour into the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, many of them through our East Gate. To do this, one must pass through two sets…
The RBGE Archives do not just hold papers – correspondence, administration and photographs – we also have a number of objects; plant models, gardening tools and camera equipment…
In Wade Davis’ account of the ‘Mallory’ expeditions to Mount Everest1, there is a brief but intriguing reference to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. In a section describing…
The RBGE Herbarium and citizen research Since 2017 the RBGE Herbarium has enlisted the help of volunteers to undertake the transcription of collection label information from herbarium specimens….
Ross Eudall was born in London on the 29th December 1924, an only child. Ross’s father was a butler, which led to Ross spending time in Kilmarnock, Inverness…
Scotland’s native wild apple tree (Malus sylvestris) is an attractive, solitary and often unassuming tree with a big history. It is a key player in the domestication of the apple, with Malus domestica, and all its many cultivars, boasting M.sylvestris as one of its progenitors.
It was a heady fortnight of frantic networking and tough negotiating in the Glasgow rain. But did the twenty-sixth Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations…
1939-1945 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 of the…
This month the world looks to Glasgow for signs of progress with tackling the climate emergency. Although the negotiations must focus on the transition to a low-carbon economy…
After nearly 28 years at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE), Frieda Christie, our Microscopy Lab manager, will be retiring at the end of September. To celebrate Frieda’s…