Carex pendula, naturalised garden escape. (Not from my garden, I've no room for such a beast.) #wildflowerhour

Finally the sun came out and it's been three days of wildflowers here in Ireland. Early purple orchids are flourishing, as are Ramsons in huge quantities, seen here snuggling up with non-native American Skunk Cabbage #wildflowerhour

#BSBISpringConference
Collection of main dandelion groups. Now is the time to get out and learn some

#BSBISpringConference . Next up, a talk by Phoebe O'Brien, discussing the different invasive plant species that occur in Ireland. Lots of lovely talks today! BSBI Ireland BSBI: Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland

#BSBISpringConference kicking off with the first talk. Clare Heardman talking about rare and interesting plants of West Cork. Looking forward to the day! BSBI Ireland BSBI: Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland

Delighted to be at #BSBISpringConference today! Can't wait for all the talks!

Inspiring talk by Donncha Ó Catháin on refinding Fern records in Clare from old historic records. Gr8 example of refinding Killarney Fern recorded by botanist Corry frm 1880 who sadly died at age of 23 out in field 😞. Refinds can tell us abt change. #BSBISpringConference

.Paul Green explaining about using an underwater drone to survey aquatic plants which has been the subject of much curiosity of farmers who’d like a drone to count cows! Must have been pretty wet in those areas. #BSBISpringConference

Fascinating talk by Philip Keena from ATU MFRC using underwater drones to survey for aquatic plants & finding rare charophytes w/Cillian Roden in Connemara. #BSBISpringConference

Some fantastic aquatic-themed talks at #BSBISpringConference : from the exciting West Cork refind of Ireland's rarest plant, to cutting edge work with aquatic drones, and of course a sneak preview of our own upcoming #AquaticPlantProject events! BSBI: Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland NBG Ireland

Clever Early mining bees (Andrena haemorrhoa) are setting up home in my herb bed. They know I don't disturb the soil, and that there are lots of flowers close by

Bookings for #BSBISpringConference close tonight...so be quick and visit bsbi.org/irish-conferen… if you'd like to come along and find out what's new in Irish botany! Its all free too. BSBI: Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland NBG Ireland National Parks and Wildlife Service Oonagh Duggan Micheline Sheehy Skeffington Olly Lynch Milner Phoebe O'Brien

the red pigment, anthocyanin, in young emerging leaves of Juglans regia, Common Walnut. it's protective, mitigating against photo-damage to the chloroplasts, and possibly also a defence against insect herbivory

Great map, but look at the whole thread for context with croplands and forest

Looking to get external access to a research library and online electronic resources. Looking to research for a book. Any ideas are useful, I'm just seeing restrictions everywhere

Don't miss out on BSBI: Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland's #IrishSpringConference on 20 April! Only a few days left to book your place: visit bsbi.org/irish-conferen… for booking and info. THE place to find out the latest goings-on in Irish botany, meet like-minded folk & learn something new (Clues below)

The BSBI Ireland Spring conference happens Sat April 20th at National Botanic Gardens. Ferns, invasive spp, aquatic plants plus lots more up for discussion. Book your place, details below. Pls use public transport to get to NBG Ireland, if poss.

Eoghan Daltun 🌍 I went on a bee keeping course last year. Always wanted to keep bees. 1st thing that was mentioned was that the honey bee is only 1 of 101 bee varieties in Ireland. Anyway at the end of the course I decided not to bother and focussed instead on growing bee friendly plants.

Always been a bit suspicious of the distribution of Sand Leek for a native plant; here it is compared to the distribution of places ending in 'thwaite' or with 'kirk' in the name, courtesy of the new British Placename Mapper (placenames.rtwilson.com) by Robin Wilson 1/2

Just in case anyone missed the memo, don't plant Three cornered leek (Ullium triquetrum). You don't want 100% invasive species smelling this strongly ruining your garden. Ramsons (Allium ursinum) will spread like this too