Botanical snippets for April

A few things spotted in the past few weeks which may be of interest to botanists:

Roger Horton shows Sandy Knapp how easily
 one can be 'fooled by Babington' -  the title of
his exhibit at the 2015 BSBI Exhibition Meeting
Image: W. Arshad

A meeting of plant evolutionary biologists is planned for this September in Cambridge. The aim of the two-day meeting is to "strengthen and build the community of plant evolutionary biologists in the UK". Speakers already booked include Dr Sandy Knapp - view the programme and find booking details here. 

Good news for plant recorders in London. The South London Botanical Institute has been awarded £99,600 by the Heritage Lottery Fund towards the restoration of its historic herbarium. Read more here about the new 'Plant Recording for All Ages' project which the grant will make possible.

Flora Donald (on right) with Geoffrey Hall and
other members of Paul Smith's Recording Team,
South Uist, August 2013
Image: L. Marsh 

Herbaria are not only valuable for checking plant specimens - they can inspire artists as well as scientists! Check out how a visit to the Herbarium at Manchester Museum inspired photographer Megan to look at ferns in a new light.  

An interesting article in Horticulture Week last month on woodland recolonisation following clearance of Rhododendron. 

The Uist Botany Group goes from strength to strength. Formed in 2013 after local botanist Flora Donald met up with Paul Smith's Hebridean Recording Team at a local Bioblitz, the group has now joined forces with Outer Hebrides Biological Recording. So, as well as recording plants for Atlas 2020, Flora and fellow Uist botanists are learning more about other wildlife occurring in the Outer Hebrides.