Another species checked off the list (I don’t actually have a list) with Irish Lady’s-tresses (Spiranthes romanzoffiana) from Little Trosk, Co. Antrim. Lovely to see so much lesser clubmoss beside the orchid too. Plus the amazing moss Breutelia chrysocoma telling us that it rains here a lot…

We're hiring! We have a new Local Change project, building on previous monitoring projects, to provide crucial data on the state of our wild plants. Here's the background: bsbi.org/take-part/pr... We're now looking to recruit a Project Coordinator: could that be you? bsbi.org/about/news/l...

Gymnadenia conopsea s.l., Epipactis palustris, Neottia ovata, Schoenus nigricans, Pulicaria dysenterica and Brizia media All from an alkaline fen on the Cooley Peninsula, Co. Louth

How excited I was to find Oreopteris limbosperma/lemon-scented fern from a damp heathy grassland in Cor na Muclach, Co. Louth! This is the first record of this fern from this area since Praeger’s record in 1887! It really did smell like lemons… @bsbibotany.bsky.social @bsbiireland.bsky.social

A local ravine supports a wall of Plagiochila spinulosa, presumably a colony that is decades (if not longer) old, based on the thickness of the clumps. They of course fall off and I felt I had to place this huge piece back to another rock face! @bbsbryology.bsky.social

Plagiochila carringtonii found in the sléibhte Mhám Toirce (Maamturks) at numerous locations yesterday on a Wild Atlantic Nature survey with @timoceallaigh.bsky.social + Adelanthus lindenbergianus's now 2nd site in same Mt. range Go raibh míle maith ag @nimbosaecology.bsky.social for verifying

Join me on the 18th August for an exciting day recording montane plants on Sliabh Muc in the Spelga Valley, Eastern Mournes, Co. Down You can expect Alpine Clubmoss, Parsley Fern and Stiff Sedge, and we will try our best to refind Stag’s-horn Clubmoss and Alpine Saw-wort!! bsbi.org/take-part/ev...

A wonderful (but rainy) day spent on the lovely water meadows of Lower Loch Erne, Co. Fermanagh We came across local highlights such as Oenanthe fistulosa, Stellaria palustris, Ranunculus lingua and Carex diandra. Loads of Pedicularis palustris too

Lythrum salicaria, Lycopus europaeus, Helosciadium inundatum and Peltigera praetextata from reedmarsh and wet woodland today, Mill Pond, Co. Down First time seeing lesser marshwort and great to see it since it is a declining species

New site for Climacium dendroides from Camloch, Co. Armagh (H37) growing on rocks along shoreline.

Join myself on the 15th July for an intermediate training course on sand dune plants at the stunning Murlough NR, Co. Down, one of the country’s best sand dune systems!! We will cover the plant ecology of sand dunes but also look at the rarer plants on Murlough too! bsbi.org/take-part/ev...

This evening I paddled across to Camlough lake’s (Co. Armagh) western & southern shores which are pretty inaccessible. There is a lovely native woodland regenerating on the western side of the lake and of course I recorded plants growing along the shore & aquatic species growing in the shallows:

Happy Summer Solstice - the sun has just about set here in NE Ireland. A beautiful but solitary Greater Butterfly-orchid (Platanthera chlorantha) helped mark this bittersweet day. Common blue taking a rest in the long sun and lovely views of my beautiful home. Go mbeirimid beo ar an am seo aríst

Orchid appreciation from the Aberystwyth area, Cymru - great to be back to this lovely part of the world!! - Lesser Buttterfly-orchid (Platanthera bifolia) - Northern Marsh-orchid (Dactylorhiza purpurella) - Marsh Helleborine (Epipactis palustris) - Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis)

A few days in the limestone Derbyshire did not disappoint botanically! All new to me Rock-rose (Helianthemum nummularium), Limestone Fern (Gymnocarpium robertianum), Melancholy Thistle (Cirsium heterophyllum) & Jacob’s-ladder (Polemonium caeruleum) @bsbibotany.bsky.social

A few nice finds around Dundalk, Co. Louth today: Bee orchid (Ophrys apifera) False Fox-sedge (Carex otrubae) Hairy Sedge (Carex hirta) Goat’s-beard (Tragopodon pretensions) I was too late in the day to see the goat’s-beard with an open flower! @bsbibotany.bsky.social @bsbiireland.bsky.social

Large heath butterfly seen today at Peatlands park during Botanical Skills NI: Plant-Pollinator Relationships of Wetlands training day. With thanks to @dmac00.bsky.social @obeckett98.bsky.social for leading the training, it really was excellent. @bsbibotany.bsky.social #worldpeatlandsday

Seriously damp and humid day today in Rostrevor Oakwood, Co. Down Melica uniflora and Galium odoratum stood out today, but really the lush mosses and epiphytes were the stars of the show!!

Platanthera bifolia, Selaginella selaginoides and Pedicularis sylvatica subsp. hibernica and Pinguicula vulgaris from the Cooley Mountains, Co. Louth (H31) I suspect there are many lesser butterfly-orchids on upland wet heath and blanket bogs lurking out there!

Always a pleasure botanising in Murlough, Co. Down. Site specials include Cynoglossum oficinale (Hound’s Tongue) and Erodium lebelii (Sticky Stork’s-bill). Plenty of marsh fritillaries on the wing along with other insects. Lovely place all together! @bsbibotany.bsky.social @bsbiireland.bsky.social

You can’t discuss flowering plant ecology without discussing pollinators (and vice-versa)!! If you want to learn how identifying plant assemblages can aid in identifying their insect pollinators, sign up for this event - only a few spaces left!!

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany.bsky.social · 2mo ago

We've teamed up with our friends at the National Biodiversity Data Centre to bring you a fab all-day event about plant-pollinator relationships of wetlands. It's on 2 June at Peatlands Park, Co. Armagh & it's absolutely FREE! bsbi.org/take-part/ev... @obeckett98.bsky.social @bsbiireland.bsky.social

I’ve been enjoying mesotrophic wetland plant species recently. Great to see so much crowfoot in Newry Canal, along with Carex versicaria, Dryopteris carthusiana and Iris pseudocorus from some fen ditches in south Down #botany #fen #rivers #plants #ferns

Killard NR looking as stunning as ever. How nice to find Ophioglossum vulgatum and to check in on the green-winged Orchids (Anacamptis morio) County Down is rather special…

Are you based in Northern Ireland and taking part in the National Plant Monitoring Scheme @npms.bsky.social ? We have a great event for you on 19 May, with #WildFlowerID at Ecos Nature Park, Ballymena in the morning followed by training on how to survey a #NPMS square: bsbi.org/take-part/ev...

Sherardia arvensis (field madder) and Conium maculatum (poison hemlock) with plenty of stonechats today at Greencastle, Co. Down

Early-purple orchid, bulbous buttercup, Ivy-leaved crowfoot and glaucous sedge along an ancient pathway in Moygannon, Rostrevor Co. Down (H38) All new tetrads! @bsbibotany.bsky.social @bsbiireland.bsky.social

Killarney Fern (Vandenboschia speciosa) from a wooded glen in Co. Tyrone today. Gametophyte being locally frequent forming colonies up to 1m^2. Sporophytes also present in ~relatively~ open conditions. What a treat! @bsbibotany.bsky.social @bsbiireland.bsky.social

French Flowers (Paris/Lyon) 1. Luzula nivea 2. Salvia pratensis 3. Ornithogalum umbellatum 4. Sherardia arvensis

Ceratocapnos claviculata from Croslieve Mnt, South Armagh - the county’s only (known) population. Strangely such a rare plant in Ireland despite plenty of available habitat - one of those botanical mysteries again! @bsbibotany.bsky.social @bsbiireland.bsky.social

Few lovely liverworts up on Dá Fhiacail Mhóra in southern Gullion, co. Armagh. The striking Ptilidium ciliare at its only SE Ulster site growing with Marsupella emarginata, Scapania compacta and Bartramia pomoformis as an unusual bryophyte mat community on acidic rock @bbsbryology.bsky.social