Juncus jacquinii 😍 A plant I'd never heard of before this trip. Looks somewhat like Schoenus at first glance but once in flower has distinctly Juncus-like tepals and a wild contrast of yellow and pink on open florets. Found growing in abundance along the edges of rich alpine flushes.

Botanical paradise up above the Stelvio pass. An incredible diversity of alpines everywhere but up on the barer high plateaus the mosaic of Glacier Buttercup, Bavarian Gentian and Alpine Rock Jasmine was spectacular 😍

Stumbled upon a fabulous flush system en route to some upland plateaus. Carex magellanica in abundance along with C. pauciflora and lots of C. flava. Biggest surprise was huge numbers of small beautiful Gentians in some of the flushes. I think they're Samiland Gentian (Comastoma tenellum).

Carex baldensis 😍 an absolutely cracking plant and the final Sedge of a mega week of plants in Italy.

Looks incredible! I saw S. bryoides this week for the first time and think your plant is different (doesn't have yellow spots on petals and has quite different leaves). Second plant Homogyne rather than Soldanella?

Homogyne alpina (Purple Colts Foot) has been incredibly abundant in most of the places we've visited in Italy this week. Just one site in Britain where it seems unlikely to be a natural occurrence so was constantly exciting to see here! Mostly gone over but a few still flowering beautifully.

Another very exciting plant pathogen this afternoon! Hyalopsora adianti-capilli-veneris on Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris). Nice enough surprise to stumble across a gorgeous Palustriella tufa flush with lots of the fern. Been checking Adiantum in Britain for this rust for a long time!

I've spent the week botanising in the Italian Alps and have met so many incredible species. The beautiful Alpine Clover (Trifolium alpinum) was a standout, a plant i'd never heard of before the trip.

Carex myosuroides was a new Sedge to me this week. Seen growing up at 2000m+ and in some areas forming quite large stands. Although it took an awful lot of searching to find some plants with the smut Anthracoidea elynae.

Anthracoidea capillaris on Hair Sedge (Carex capillaris). Walking up a slope with thousands of Hair Sedge plants I was hoping i'd see this but was still very chuffed to come across it 😍 Just a few plants were hosting the smut.

A large population of the fabulous Ivy Leaved Bellflower (Wahlenbergia hederacea) was a very nice surprise at work this week! #wildflowerhour

Cochlearia megalosperma (Tall Scurvygrass). A huge and stunning plant that looks quite bizarre managing to grow from the side of a wall. Very uncommon as a wild plant in Britain but has been known from this site for a while.

A stunning display of Broad Leaved Cottongrass (Eriophorum latifolium) from a work site this week 😍 #wildflowerhour

I finally caught up with Horned Pondweed (Zannichelia palustris). A charming little plant with fab banana shaped fruits. A nice population growing in good macrophyte company #wildflowerhour

Pyramidal Orchids out in force and looking incredible at Minera quarry this morning 😍 #wildflowerhour

Anthracoidea pratensis on Carex flacca. In a quarry this morning and nearly every plant of flacca seemed to be heavily infected by this fab fungus.

Another fab Marsh Helleborine (Epipactis palustris) site. What a plant! This one with a Carex x fulva neighbour. @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Just a few of the wonderful graminoids from up on Lawers. #wildflowerhour

Some of the specials from Ben Lawers 😍 #wildflowerhour @bsbiscotland.bsky.social

Some fab uncommon neophytes in Llandudno at the start of the week. Blue Lettuce (Lactuca tatarica) and Buphthalmum salicifolium. #wildflowerhour

Dactylorhiza x viridella (D. viridis x purpurella) and Twayblade Orchids looking incredible on a very rich road verge this weekend. #wildflowerhour

Chara curta (Lesser Bearded Stonewort). The distinctive teeth showing well in the upper internode. #wildflowerhour

Chara aculeolata (Hedgehog Stonewort). A very distinctive and absolutely fabulous species, looking very happy in a calcareous pool yesterday.

Marsh Helleborines looking stunning locally this week. Most of the population barely up but this one patch was all huge plants 😍 #wildflowerhour

Some very green fruited Sedges contrasting with the gingery brown beauty that is elongata 😍 all from today in the north west. #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Just a few more gorgeous plants from work this week. #wildflowerhour

It was hard to get used to having the beautiful Blysmus compressus (Flat Sedge) for company at work this week. A real star plant 😍 #wildflowerhour

The Small White Orchid's (Pseudorchis albida) looking magnificent this afternoon 😍 #wildflowerhour @ukorchids.bsky.social

The beautiful Dwarf Stonewort (Nitella tenuissima), growing in abundance with Drepanocladus lycopodioides in a turlough. Both very special species!

Southbya tophacea, one of the star liverworts of the British flora. My first time seeing Southbya in Britain and wow, they're such beauties! @bbsbryology.bsky.social