10 Coastal Plants Colonising the City

Take a closer look at the coastal plants or halophytes spreading along roadsides to colonise the city. The term ‘halophyte’ refers to a plant tolerant of higher than usual salt levels. Typically, this means coastal plants that are regularly exposed to sea spray, submersion by saline water or soils saturated with salt. As you mightContinue reading “10 Coastal Plants Colonising the City”

An Urban Flora of Newcastle – One Year On

A project update following a busy old year surveying the urban flora of Newcastle.

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”

An Urban Flora of Newcastle: Progress & Problems so Far

An update on ongoing survey carried out to map and record the diverse and fascinating Urban Flora of Newcastle.

Identifying Dead-nettles

Start identifying dead-nettles with a new crib suitable for beginners. Includes most of the species you’re likely to spot in urban habitats.

Weekend Botany at Walker

This weekend provided a nice opportunity for our new local botany group to visit Walker Riverside. Here’s what we encountered. Botany (and wildlife recording in general) can often be a solitary affair. For many of us, I suspect, myself included, that suits us just fine. At least most of the time. Sometimes, however, it isContinue reading “Weekend Botany at Walker”

Adventives and Invaders at Walker Riverside

A short round-up of a glorious Saturday morning spent botanising one of my favourite local sites. It is no secret that I am a big fan of the messy, post-industrial yet incredibly diverse riverside park at Walker. Visiting for a few years now, I’ve already amassed a fairly respectable plant list for the site yetContinue reading “Adventives and Invaders at Walker Riverside”

A festival of ferns at Hareshaw Linn

An account of a fantastic day spent exploring fern identification at the glorious Hareshaw Linn.

Plant of the Week: Lindisfarne Helleborine

Entry numer #1 in our new Plant of the Week series It is not every day you encounter an endemic species, nevermind one found exclusively at a single site. That said, that’s exactly what happened this week. To celebrate a fantastic trip to Lindisfarne, the first plant in our new Plant of the Week seriesContinue reading “Plant of the Week: Lindisfarne Helleborine”

Industrial orchids in Newcastle

A quick account of a fruitful few days spend admiring orchids in Newcastle, featuring Bee Orchids, helleborines and more!

Spring Botany at Allen Banks

With my Natural History Society of Northumbria hat on, yesterday I had the pleasure of leading a small group of students from Newcastle University to one of my favourite local haunts: the glorious National Trust reserve at Allen Banks. The wooded areas here making for a superb location at which to enjoy a range ofContinue reading “Spring Botany at Allen Banks”