Somerset Rare Plants Group (SRPG) Newsletter www.somersetrareplantsgroup.org.uk/wp-content/u...

Apparently this particular Somerset patch doesn’t have the usual tatty petals.

Goldilocks Buttercup

A surprisingly pristine Goldilocks Buttercup at Ebbor Gorge, Somerset #wildflowerhour

Cowslips at Ebbor Gorge, Somerset #wildflowerhour

Why wildflowers are moving from meadows to the city The amount of green space for wildflowers in the UK has shrunk amid the rise of modern agriculture. But wildflowers are thriving where other plants can't – cities.

Why wildflowers are moving from meadows to the city www.bbc.co.uk/future/artic...

A really nice BBC Earth article written by @jessicaeb.bsky.social about the importance of secondary urban habitats for native plant species and other wildlife, quoting @ukceh.bsky.social ecologist Nadine Mitschunas.

Chaffinch on a peanut feeder

Important new advice from the RSPB: Seasonal feeding and good hygiene are essential to keep garden birds safe and well.
More: littlegreenspace.org.uk/features/new...

I always look forward to my annual native Bluebell fix every spring 😍 #InternationalPlantAppreciationDay

I always look forward to my annual native Bluebell fix every spring 😍 #InternationalPlantAppreciationDay

Okay, #InternationalPlantAppreciationDay was over a month ago, but we couldn't resist. This looks not unlike PEI staff on a walk.

Interesting blog. Thank you, Lizzie, for sharing your experience. It sounds like you had a great day.

Grasses in Cambridge Collections: Combating grass blindness - Lizzie Harper Grasses in Cambridge Collections: Combating grass blindness discusses ideas on how to make grasses visible during a day of collection visits

New blog out, about #grasses and #grassblindness, & my day spent at The Fitzwilliam & @cuherb.bsky.social exploring why we ignore them:

lizzieharper.co.uk/2026/04/gras...

I do lots of #botanicalillustrations of grasses, but why are they overlooked by so many, and how can we change that?

Pictured is the beautiful Wood Sorrel, Oxalis acetosella. Many of the gorgeous plants to be found in woodland are ancient woodland indicators, as they grow and spread slowly over many years. Why not visit your local patch and see what you can find for #wildflowerhour this Sunday 8-9pm!

What can you find flowering in woodland? That’s the challenge this week from Wildflowerhour! Post your finds using the hashtag #WoodlandPlants for #WildflowerHour this Sunday 8-9pm. Happy flower-hunting!

Botanical University Challenge Help us grow the next generation of botanists

🌱🌾🌍🌺🍄🌳🌲🌿🍃 🧪🐡 The crowdfunder for #BUC2026, specifically the 4th Student Botany Festival in August, is underway. This event has such an impact on UK & Irish students keen on botany. Look at reading.hubbub.net/p/botanicalu...

Keep them smiling! Please donate or share!!

Close-up collage of purple pasque flowers (Pulsatilla vulgaris) with soft, silky hairs on stems and buds. One open star-shaped bloom shows bright yellow stamens, while other images show nodding buds and partially opened flowers against a blurred green background.

Pulsatilla vulgaris, the Pasque flower, takes its name from blooming at Pasque, the season of Passover and Easter. In old lore, a flower wrapped in red cloth and carried was said to guard against illness. In the Victorian language of flowers, they symbolise modesty and humility.

Lungwort - Congleton Bath House & Physic Garden Lungwort, Pulmonaria officinalis, is a spring-flowering perennial herb with spotted leaves, long used in traditional medicine.

congletonbhpg.co.uk/our-plants/l...

From #KewGardens today after watching 10k race.

I couldn’t resist taking these photos today after pulling into a lay-by to eat my lunch. Wood Anemones are always a bit special. My first sightings of the year.

I’ve been to see this rare plant at the Avon Gorge today - Bristol Rock Cress, Arabis scabra 🤍 @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Cowslip, Primula veris, Legend says it grew where St Peter dropped the keys to Heaven #wildflowerhour #storyplants. Seen for first time this year in Shapwick, Somerset today.

Adpressed: lying flat, pressed closely against a surface.
Derived from Latin ‘adprimo’ meaning pressed near.
Atlantic Ivy: Adpressed stellate (star shape) hairs on young stem (top)
Bilberry: Adpressed buds (left)
Tormentil: Adpressed hairs on leaflet surface (right)

Cordate: in reference to leaf base, means deeply notched so that whole base has a heart-shape.
From the Latin for ‘heart-shaped’
Examples Sweet Violet (top), Hart’s-tongue Fern (left) and Lesser Celandine (right).

While I was sat in my car eating my lunch today near Gloucester a little Goldcrest came and sat on my car bonnet.

Retrorse: bent or curved backwards or downwards. From Latin ‘retrorsus’ meaning bent back.
Greater Stitchwort (left)
Green Alkanet (top)
Sweet Violet (bottom)

Antrorse: pointing forwards or towards the apex.
From the Latin ‘antrorsum’ which is from ‘anteroversum’ with ‘anterior’ meaning before and ‘versum’ meaning turned.
Crosswort (left)
Heath Bedstraw (top)
Woodruff (bottom)

Can you find any wild or naturalised plants that have white blooms? That’s the #wildflowerhour challenge this week! Share your finds this Sunday 8-9pm using the hashtag #WhiteFlowers. Happy flower hunting!
@bsbibotany.bsky.social

Ocrea or Ochrea: a tubular stipule sheathing the stem.
From the Latin ‘ocrea’ for protective legging or greave (piece of armour for the shin).

Example: Redshank, Persicaria maculosa. Hairy ochrea with long, wispy hairs.

Primroses and Pussy Willows on my lunchtime walk today.

Rue-leaved Saxifrage (Saxifraga tridactylites) flowering comfortably on its bed of moss on a local traffic island #wildflowerhour

Apiculate: an abrupt, short point that is not an extension of the midrib.
From the Latin ‘apiculus’ meaning sharp point.
Example: Common Chickweed

Glory-of-the-snow, Chionodoxa or Scilla now flowering in my front lawn