A quick account of an overdue run-in with a Northumbrian speciality – Asplenium x clermontiae Now, I am rather dreadful at ferns and for a while now having been trying to improve by tracking down our region’s scarcer species. Top of that list for quite a while has been Lady Clermont’s Spleenwort (Asplenium x clermontiae),Continue reading “An Encounter with Lady Clermont’s Spleenwort (Asplenium x clermontiae)”
Category Archives: Botany
Identifying Crocuses
Get started identifying the wild and naturalised snowdrops you’re most likely to spot in a brand-new crib sheet suitable for beginners.
An Urban Flora of Newcastle – One Year On
A project update following a busy old year surveying the urban flora of Newcastle.
Identifying Cotoneasters
Get started identifying the naturalised cotoneasters likely to be recorded in Northumberland and several others that may occur in the future.
Identifying Clovers
Get started identifying the wild and naturalised clovers likely to be recorded in Northumberland.
Newcastle’s Urban Flora – A Project Update
An account of a busy season recording for what I’m loosely calling an ‘Urban Flora of Newcastle‘. As many of you will know, over the past year, I’ve been working on a project to map the urban flora of Newcastle-upon-Tyne – a personal endeavor that I hope at some stage to publish. With 82 outContinue reading “Newcastle’s Urban Flora – A Project Update”
Botany at East Chevington
A not so quick account of a brilliant two days spent botanising Northumberland Wildlife Trust’s East Chevington reserve.
Into the Hen Hole: Botany in the Cheviots
A quick account of a fantastic botanical outing to the famed Hen Hole gorge, one of the Cheviot’s hidden gems.
Identifying Poppies
Get started identifying the wild and naturalised poppies likely to be recorded in Northumberland.
Botanising Up North: Embleton Quarry, Bamburgh & Craster
An account of a wonderful weekend on the coast taking in Embleton Quarry, Bamburgh and other sites. Last weekend, Matt and I had the pleasure of spending two days galavanting around North Northumberland and while botany was not the only purpose of trip, there was more than enough to keep this botanist happy throughout. SaturdayContinue reading “Botanising Up North: Embleton Quarry, Bamburgh & Craster”
Upper Teesdale in Spring
A short account of a spring visit to the botanical paradise that is Upper Teesdale. As part of an ongoing course I’m leading for the Natural History Society of Northumbria, this past Saturday I had the pleasure of visiting the botanical paradise that is Upper Teesdale. Stopping first at Cow Green reservoir and travelling laterContinue reading “Upper Teesdale in Spring”
Identifying Speedwells
Get started identifying wild and naturalised speedwells in a brand-new crib sheet suitable for beginners. Find keys boring? You’re not alone. While those of us who spend our days obsessively searching for plants quite like them, for most people, they don’t cut the mustard. Indeed, they can be particularly offputting to beginners. It is forContinue reading “Identifying Speedwells”