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Norwegian niches: oblong woodsia

Niche is a word that has multiple meanings. Someone might have ‘found their niche’ if they have a particularly suitable job, for example. In ecology the word is…

Cow-wheat curiosity: pollination

There’s nothing quite like a mystery for building a sense of curiosity. As part of my preparation for the Scottish Plant Recovery project fieldtrip to Norway in early…

Towards 3 million: Fabulous fungi found in peculiar places

The following blog was written by Chris Knowles a digitiser in the Herbarium. Since 2021 we have increased our digitisation capacity with the goal of getting to 1…

Cow-wheat conundrum

One of the plants in the set of ten that make up the Scottish Plant Recovery project – small cow-wheat (Melampyrum sylvaticum) – is a particular enigma due…

Meet the Botanics Sniffer in Residence

What is the ‘mushroomy’ scent of heritage? And what do the institutions that care for it — such as the RBGE — smell like? By Siôn Parkinson Dr…

Towards 3 million: Lentibulariaceae

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…

Towards 3 million: Calceolariaceae, Stilbaceae and Paulowniaceae

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…

Are we ready to weather the water?

On Friday 14 June 2024, RBGE experienced 11mm of rain in the span of 8 minutes. To put into context, a typical rainy day (≥ 1mm precipitation, of…

TNLS: from Alphabetti-Spaghetti to order?

We are excited to start a new collaboration between the Botanics (RBGE) and Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ). This project forms part of TETTRIs – “Transforming European Taxonomy through…

Towards 3 million specimens: Malpighiaceae

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…

In the firing line

Plants taking pot shots at passers by is obviously a fanciful idea. Nevertheless, there is a plant, known as the purple toothwort (Lathraea clandestina), that could be described…

Towards 3 million: British Bluebells – Hyacinthoides non-scripta & Campanula rotundifolia

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…

A Deeper Look at Tree Mosses; Part III

The following blog posts on moss evolution are written by Diego Sánchez-Ganfornina (early career researcher).Migrations, extinctions, rainforests and climate change: the pressures and situations that led tree mosses…

The elm hunters

Inchnadamph is on the shore of Loch Assynt, at the point where the burn known as the Traligill enters the loch. The hamlet consists of only a few…

Towards 3 million specimens: Hydroleaceae, Plocospermataceae, Tetrachondraceae & Carlemanniaceae

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…

A Deeper Look at Tree Mosses; Part II

The following blog posts on moss evolution are written by Diego Sánchez-Ganfornina (early career researcher).Migrations, extinctions, rainforests and climate change: the pressures and situations that led tree mosses…

A Deeper Look at Tree Mosses; Part I

The following blog posts on moss evolution are written by Diego Sánchez-Ganfornina (early career researcher).Migrations, extinctions, rainforests and climate change: the pressures and situations that led tree mosses…

Towards 3 million specimens: Orchidaceae

The following blog was written by Iain Ratter, a digitiser in the Herbarium. Since 2021 we have increased our digitisation capacity with the goal of getting to 1…

A tale of two elms

A new chapter in the 800 year relationship between the people of the Highland village of Beauly and a remarkable wych elm began on Monday 29 April 2024…

Towards 3 million specimens: Annonaceae

The following blog was written by Chris Knowles, a digitiser in the Herbarium. Since 2021 we have increased our digitisation capacity with the goal of getting to 1…