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An Update on the Flora of Myanmar Project

A collaborative effort has seen the complete digitisation of herbarium specimens of vascular plants from Myanmar, complemented by data standardisation and georeferencing.

Harry’s Gates

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 David Douglas Telescope – what can one object tell us?

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…

Purple Saxifrage: The first tribune of Spring in the Arctic and the Alps

As the snow melts Saxifraga oppositifolia (Purple saxifrage) is normally one of the first tribunes of spring, heralding winter’s end as its bright petals unfold. Throughout March, its…

Naming of Primula species from the 1921 British Reconnaissance Expedition to Mount Everest

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…

Damage to the Edinburgh collection. Storm Malik and Corrie

Gusts of wind reached 85mph in parts of Scotland as Storm Malik swept across the country on Saturday. High winds brought down trees, damaged buildings and more than…

Choose your transcription path through people and plants

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….

2021 Garden Highlights

It has certainly been another challenging year for everyone working at The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. However, one positive out of the pandemic is the growing appreciation for…

Ross Eudall (1924-2021)

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…

RBGE/Nature Scot Ikebana installations at COP26

During the United Nations COP26 in Glasgow during November 2021 we created thought-provoking displays of global plant life across 10 negotiating rooms with 55 individual displays. They each…

A Green Wall at Edinburgh Waverley Station for COP26

Bringing nature into our cities is an essential component for a sustainable future. Our disconnection from the natural world is constantly overlooked in the urban world. Greening our…

Autumn from the Air

As I walked around the garden today here at RBGE, there was a real sense of autumn in the air. Golden leaves lay scattered on the ground, the…

Apple Hunting in Scotland

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.

COP26 – What Now?

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…

RBGE World War Two Service Roll

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…

Backing nature for climate at COP26

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…

Cleaner greener tools for the Garden

RBGE horticulturists are working to reduce the environmental impact of maintaining the Garden, with benefits for all.

Wangari Maathai 1940—2011

Wangari Maathai who did so much to restore, conserve and campaign for the forest environment for the benefit of local people and their way of life in Kenya and across Africa. Everywhere the natural world is being depleted and habitats lost, Wangari’s life and actions are an inspiration to us all. This article discusses a tree planted in her memory in the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and how it came to be. The article was written by Garden Guides, Helen Mitchell and Irene Paterson.

Frieda Christie – 28 Years at RBGE

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…

Blazing the apple trail

The Garden’s 2021 Harvest Festival includes a short self-guided trail on the origins and future of the apple linked to work on the Darwin Tree of Life project….