Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)

@bsbibotany

Studying, appreciating, recording and conserving our wild plants, and supporting the botanists who care about them. bsbi.org #PlantAtlas2020 #100Plants2026 #WildFlowerHour Direct messages are not checked.

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Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· 7d

We're hiring! We have a new Local Change project, building on previous BSBI monitoring projects, to provide crucial data on the state of our wild plants. Background to the project: bsbi.org/take-part/pr... We're now looking to recruit a Project Coordinator. Find out more: bsbi.org/about/people...

3 botanists by the sea photographing, identifying and recording the wildflowers they find

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· 13d

We had a fabulous time at the BSBI Summer Meeting in Carmarthenshire: gorgeous plants, beautiful locations, great company & a chance to pick up #WildFlowerID tips from fellow botanists. Some highlights: bsbi.org/blog/2026/07... Next year's Summer Meeting will be in Co. Sligo: hope to see you there!

Botanists huddle around a plant and confer on its identification

Top botanists John Poland and Mark Spencer puzzle over a tricky Forget-me-not from the edge of a bog pool

Three female botanists on a cliff on the Gower in south Wales, peering at tiny wildflowers still blooming despite the grass around them being so parched

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· 18d

Very sad news that Rosemary Parslow has passed away. She joined the Society in 1979 & served as our Vice-County Recorder for the Isles of Scilly since 1983: an immense service to the botanical world. We send our condolences to her family & friends. More information here: bsbi.org/about/news/l...

The pink flowerheads and long thin leaves of Thrift (Armeria maritima), the county flower of the Isles of Scilly

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· 19d

This Sunday is #InternationalBogDay2026. It's organised by bsky.app/profile/iucn.... Find out more about peatbogs & #wetlandplants, how you can get involved, + 3 iconic bog plants you can hunt for & record: bsbi.org/blog/2026/07... Remember to share your finds on Sunday evening for #WildFlowerHour!

The colourful flowers of Bogbean with white petals, pink buds and as purple/ yellow centre

Botanists Maarten, Barry and James admire some of the native bog plants growing at Celtic Wildflowers nursery

The starry yellow flowers of Bog Asphodel

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· 26d

Say hello to the botanists who started it all! We've added 300+ digitised historical titles to our website, from County Floras to periodicals to Herbals dating back to 1571. We're also bringing our digital archives home & unlocking vital plant history. Explore & support: bsbi.org/blog/2026/07...

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· 28d

The eBook of our new #BSBIHandbook 'Whitebeams, Rowans and Service Trees of Britain and Ireland' is out now & it's only £10 (print book RRP = £35). 282 pages long & covers 68 taxa, all of which will be there on your phone/PC/laptop once you buy this eBook! Lead author is BSBI Sorbus expert Tim Rich.

The front cover of this BSBI Handbook shows a solitary whitebeam on a heather-covered hillside, with the sea behind

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· Jul 7

We're delighted to announce the entire 16-strong judging panel for our 2026 Botanical Photographer of the Year competition! Mugshots below 👇 or check out all their biogs here: bsbi.org/take-part/ac... Then select your very best plant photos to enter into the competition: bsbi.org/take-part/ac...

Thumbnail photos of the 16-strong judging panel in the 2026 Botanical Photographer of the Year competition

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· Jul 5

We're delighted to announce the panel of judges for our Botanical Photographer of the Year competition! Pix 👇of 4 of them: @jillwhitelock.bsky.social @theurbanbirder.bsky.social @markavery.bsky.social & @wildflowerhour.bsky.social founder Isabel Hardman. See the rest: bsbi.org/take-part/ev...

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· Jul 2

More exciting news! Our 2nd #IrishGrasslandsProject event on 18 July is a walk exploring coastal & wet grassland habitats at the amazing Sheskinmore Nature Reserve in Donegal, on the Great Irish Grasslands Trail. Booking (essential!) opens on 11 July. Find out more: www.eventbrite.ie/e/wildflower...

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· Jul 2

Looking to hear all the latest botanical news from Scotland? Check out the latest FREE issue of the BSBI's Scottish Newsletter, for articles on clubmosses, ferns, protecting Scotland's local plants, tufted saxifrage, under-recorded taxa, brambles and even the odd butterfly! bsbi.org/learn/period...

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· Jun 30

Based in Northern Ireland? Keen to start identifying & recording wild flowers? Fancy a day out on 9 July in lovely Roe Valley Country Park, with friendly tutors who'll help you get started with sedges, speedwells👇& cow-wheats? www.tickettailor.com/events/botan... Event is free but donations welcome!

Two of our friendly tutors: they are all happy to share plant ID tips with you

The blue flowers and toothed leaves of Heath Speedwell

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· Jun 22

Today is the start of #INNSweek. Find out how you can help by learning about & recording invasive non-native plant species: bsbi.org/blog/2026/06... Check out the GB Non-native Species Secretariat website for webinars, resources & more ways to get involved: www.nonnativespecies.org/what-can-i-d...

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· Jun 6

Our members volunteer in so many wonderful ways! They're inclusive: running workshops, events & conferences They're intrepid: recording wild plants across Britain & Ireland They're inquisitive: studying plants & sharing #WildFlowerID tips Celebrating them in #VolunteerWeek! bsbi.org/about/people...

Volunteer member Ryan at an outreach event, showing a child how to identify a wild flower

Examining the inner part of a Geranium flower through a handlens (an essential botanical tool!) - this is necessary for accurate plant identification

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· Jun 4

Many of our volunteering opportunities are open to all, but we offer even more options for #BSBImembers who can apply to join a committee. Events & Comms committee organises activities & events eg #NewYearPlantHunt. Skills & Training Committee focuses on #BotanyForEveryone. bsbi.org/about/people...

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· Jun 3

Nice article in today's @theguardian.com about native wildlife on banknotes www.theguardian.com/business/202... But oh dear @bankofengland.bsky.social, why isn't there a single native plant under consideration? A few suggestions for you below + a £20 note mocked up by @trevorthebotanist.bsky.social!

Images of some native British wildflowers, such as Lady's-Slipper orchid and Bluebell, that we think would look gorgeous on one of the new Bank of England banknotes!

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· Jun 2

We are so proud of Pete Stroh (BSBI Scientific Officer) & Helena Crouch ( #BSBICountyRecorder & #BSBItrustee)! Yesterday they were awarded the hugely prestigious 2026 Marsh Botany Award by the Marsh Charitable Trust for services to UK botany! Here's why: www.marshcharitabletrust.org/award/marsh-...

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· Jun 1

It's #VolunteerWeek so a chance to thank & celebrate all the volunteers who contribute to our Society's success: Our c5K #BSBImembers Our c200 #BSBICountyRecorders & c100 expert Referees We have a wide range of volunteering opportunities to suit all fellow plant-lovers: bsbi.org/about/people...

BSBI volunteers visit a species-rich site to record the plants growing there and share plant identification tips

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· May 26

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

A gleaming green beetle sits on the pink flower of a Thrift plant

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· May 14

The latest issue of #BSBINews, our fab membership magazine, is out now! Members: find it in your mailbox or (for digital members) via this password-protected page: bsbi.org/learn/period... Non-members: samplers & 1 free article from each issue available here for you to try: bsbi.org/learn/period...

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· May 12

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...

Purple flowers of Bugle, a wild plant typical of damp meadows/ acid grassland

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· May 6

We're calling on all plant-lovers to take images of wonderful wildflowers this summer & enter them in our Botanical Photographer of the Year competition! There are 5 categories and (new for 2026) we are introducing a separate award for young photographers. Find out more: bsbi.org/take-part/ac...

A child, silhouetted against the late afternoon sun in Cambridgeshire, blows seed of Great Reedmace into the air. Image by Edward Burden

A single flower of Grass-of-Parnassus is seen in a black and white close-up shot. Image taken in Morayshire by Catriona Matheson

A botanist wades into a loch in Aberdeenshire to survey aquatic plants such as water-lilies. He is holding an orange bathyscope to help him see plants underwater. Image taken by Ian Strachan.

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· May 5

#NoMowMay has started! Are you taking part? Find out how we are supporting our friends @plantlifeuk.bsky.social in their annual campaign to boost lawn biodiversity: bsbi.org/blog/2026/05... Leave your mower in the shed & let the wildflowers bloom: you'll be supporting pollinators & other wildlife!

Wildflowers bloom on the edge of a gardener's lawn, where a patch has been left unmown for No Mow May

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· Apr 27

Spring issue of our Welsh Bulletin out now, with news of upcoming events, @amgueddfacymru.bsky.social & @natreswales.bsky.social updates & stories about Welsh botanical highlights inc Marsh Pea, Globeflower & an unusual rush! Read it (& all back issues) free of charge here: bsbi.org/learn/period...

Front cover of Welsh Bulleting spring issue shows several yellow Globeflowers at their last remaining site in Carmarthenshire

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· Apr 20

Our trustee Nicola @wildplantwanderer.bsky.social took a break from #Identiplant to enjoy a day of #hanami, the Japanese custom of enjoying picnicking under the cherry blossom! Find out more & check out our handy links to help you with #WildFlowerID on cherries (Prunus spp): bsbi.org/blog/2026/04...

Close-up of cherry blossom blooming against a blue sky in springtime

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· Apr 20

Our friend @milneorchid.bsky.social needs your help! He's working on an orchid book for the Collins New Naturalist series, and needs more orchid images. Find out how you could help Richard & maybe get one of your orchid photos (with credit) into this prestigious new book: bsbi.org/blog/2026/04...

A purple orchid blooms near the shore at Barleycove in the west of Ireland

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· Apr 15

We're looking to recruit a manager for 2 fabulous botanical projects in Ireland: #AquaticPlantProject #IrishGrasslandProject You'll be coordinating expert-led field events & developing training materials for botanists at all skill levels. 2 days per week. Apply by 25 May: bsbi.org/about/news/l...

Two female botanists stand by a lake, with grassland behind; they are smiling, holding aquatic plants they have fished out of the lake for identification

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· Apr 2

#FISC dates for 2026 are live! If you are looking to take a #FieldIdentificationSkillsCertificate (FISC) this year, check out the 27 dates we've just announced, from Kent to Cardiff & from Devon to Stirling: bsbi.org/learn/field-... FISC test = industry standard for assessing botanical proficiency.

The female part of a Geranium flower is magnified through a handlens

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· Apr 1

Find out how Nicola @wildplantwanderer.bsky.social is progressing on her botanical journey with #Identiplant, our online botany course. She's been getting to grips with leaf shapes, #WildFlowerID keys & she just had her 1st "Eureka, suddenly it all fell into place" moment: bsbi.org/blog/2026/03...

Composite image showing various leaf shapes

The large purple flowers of Greater Periwinkle

A large stand of 3-cornered leek, with white bell-shaped flowers and distinctive 3-angled stems

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· Mar 27

Based in Northern Ireland? Want to support @npms.bsky.social & help unlock plant survey sites across NI? Then we have a fabulous volunteer opportunity for you! Check it out: bsbi.org/about/people...

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany· Mar 23

Check out the Flora on the Edge woven collection created by Arcana Living in collaboration with the BSBI, honouring 15 rare & endangered wild plants. 10% of all sales from this collection goes directly to support our work. Visit arcanaliving.com/collections/... to order items (all woven to order).