GBE | Genome Assemblies of the Daisy Gorteria diffusa Elucidate the Molecular-Genomic Basis of Pollination by Sexual Deception The image depicts morphotypes (subspecies) and intraspecific hybrids of Gorteria diffusa L., a South African daisy that is pollinated by sexual deception of male bombyliid flies. Between the inflorescences is a graphic representation of the new reference genome assembly of the G. diffusa ‘Springbok’ morphotype (upper left corner), which, together with genomic analysis of hybrid zones, enabled the discovery of structural genomic changes underlying the evolution of plant sexual deception.

Kellenberger @joanameier.bsky.social @beverleycubg.bsky.social et al. studied sexual deception in South African daisy, identifying inverted genomic segments that may maintain the distinct identity of some floral forms in secondary contact zones.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evag065

#genome #evolution

Always amazing to see Angraecum sesquipedale in flower @cubotanicgarden.bsky.social

Job opportunity!

Research Assistant / Research Associate in Molecular Physiology

Fixed term

Closes on Wednesday 28 January 2026

www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/researc...

#PlantSci #PlantSciJobs

Thank you Susannah! The Douglas Adams reference is high praise 😄

Abbott’s conundrum: why did half of all known recently formed hybrid species arise in the British Isles? Remarkably, half of the 10 plant hybrid species confirmed to have arisen naturally since 1500 arose within the British Isles (BI). The mechanisms included translocation of natural hybrids to a bota...

A nice paper by Richard Milne on some of the may contributions of Richard Abbott on the study of new polyploid hybrid species.

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Lovely day sharing ideas with fellow botanic garden directors at Birmingham Botanical Gardens today - and the plants were spectacular too!

✨ Cambridge Botanic Lights ✨

❤️ A wonderful opportunity to take some time out and spend an evening with friends and family ❤️

Make memories at Cambridge University Botanic Garden 🌿

Buy your tickets at botanic.cam.ac.uk/cambridge-botanic-lights-2025

#CUBG #winterlights #Cambridge #botanicgarden

Russell R. Geiger Professorship of Crop Science

Dept. of Plant Sciences | Permanent | Closes on Monday 17 November 2025

www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/russell...

#plantsciences #plantscijobs #academicjobs

A smiling person with a laptop, seated outdoors with lush greenery in the background. A text overlay reads: "New vacancy: Communications Assistant, Cambridge University Botanic Garden, £26-30K".

Communications Assistant @cubotanicgarden.bsky.social ✍️

This role will support the Botanic Garden’s marketing activities and event promotion, encouraging new and returning visitors.

Apply before 22 June 👇
bit.ly/4kE2iS4

🧠 Are you a physicist, engineer, chemist, or coder curious about life sciences? 🧪
Challenge the boundaries. Take risks. Go international. Apply for an #HFSPFellowship! The 2026 call is OPEN 💪
🌍 Deadline to start application: 7 May 2025
🔗 zurl.co/ffHmt
#sts #hfsp

Apply now for a four year Research Fellowship at Kew. £41,020 per annum Closing Date 20/04/2025 opportunity to become an independent researcher with some startup funds for research and travel. careers.kew.org/internal/vac...

A family walking along the garden path, framed by magnolia trees.

A group of children doing the easter family trail in the Garden.

A couple sitting on a bench looking out over the lake.

A graphic celebrating Cambridge University Botanic Garden as the Best Tourist Attraction.

We are delighted to have been voted ‘Best Tourist Attraction’ in the Cambridge Edition People’s Choice Awards 2025!

What a lovely day to celebrate in the sun 🌞 Thank you to everyone who voted!

Plus congrats to the Fitzwilliam Museum who were voted as ‘Best Arts & Cultural Venue’🏆

It has been a great day!

Such an amazing time at the UK plant biomechanics meeting. Big thanks to the organisers @yoselin.bsky.social and Finn Box. And all the amazing speakers and poster presenters.

Flowering cherries @cubotanicgarden.bsky.social are even better today with blue sky above them

❤️ The flowering cherries are out @cubotanicgarden.bsky.social

Looking forward to this tomorrow!

Dwarf peony Paeonia cambessedesii with delicate pink petals and a golden-yellow centre. Its leaves are dark green, deeply lobed, with reddish stems. The plant is growing among moss-covered rocks in a Glasshouse, with the structure's wooden beams and glass panes visible in the background.

Fritillaria eduardii in full bloom, with vibrant orange, bell-shaped flowers hanging from tall, green stems and lance-shaped leaves. The setting is inside a glasshouse, with wooden beams and a brick wall visible in the background.

Miniature bell-shaped flowers on slender stems of the blue grape hyacinth – or muscari. Its leaves are mid-green and strap-like. The background shows a glasshouse structure with wooden beams and glass panes.

Soft violet-blue, star-shaped flowers of a hyacinth arranged in a loose cluster on a slender dark stem. Narrow green leaves arch from the base. The background shows a glasshouse structure with wooden beams and glass panes.

🌿 Mountain Magic!

Step inside our Mountains House, where high-altitude plants thrive. Here are some of today’s stars including some wild & rare plants in our collection...

🌸 Paeonia cambessedesii
🌟 Fritillaria eduardii
🔵 Muscari heldreichii
💜 Hyacinthus orientalis
#MondayMood #MountainBlooms

Cluster of sclereids (stone cells) in pear tissue, stained with toluidine blue to show lignin (x400 magnification).

Looking for guidance teaching #Microscopy? 🔬🌱

Chris' latest article also featured in @associationscied.bsky.social School Science Review is available here with a presentation to download: www.saps.org.uk/growth-hub/t...

#plantsci @chrisgraham.bsky.social @stemlearning.bsky.social

Welcome to this view of the world!

Three people stand looking at the camera inside a recording studio with recording equipment on the table in front of them.

A bumblebee collecting nectar from a vibrant pink coneflower (Echinacea) with a spiky red center. Another bumblebee is visible in the background on a similar flower, with soft green foliage behind.

A honey bee collecting nectar from a vibrant red tubular flower, with a soft-focus green background. The bee's legs and body are covered in fine hairs.

n image for BBC Radio 4’s ‘In Our Time’ programme. The background is a golden mosaic swirling mosaic design. The programme title, ‘IN OUR TIME,’ is displayed in bold black letters in a white rectangular frame. Above the title, is the BBC logo and in the lower right corner, there is a white Radio 4 logo.

Plants & their pollinators🌼🐝

Plants can’t move but they still need a mate. How do they do it? Our Director @beverleycubg.bsky.social joined @bbcradio4.bsky.social In Our Time with Melvyn Bragg, Jane Memmott & @larschittka.bsky.social for a fascinating discussion
bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

👋Bluesky!

Hello!

This month’s cover image is of a diverse display of tropical plant species under ex situ cultivation in the glasshouses at Cambridge University Botanic Garden, Cambridge, UK.

Great to see our paper on the front cover @natureecoevo.bsky.social, with the tropical displays in our glasshouse range!

With thanks to all 50+ co-authors.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Nice editorial on the issues facing a variety of ex situ plant collection.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Botanic gardens are struggling to keep up with the biodiversity crisis – here’s what they can do Botanic gardens have evolved from medicinal gardens to scientific institutions, Now, they must become conservation leaders on a global scale.

Botanic gardens are more than peaceful retreats or collections of catalogued plants - they’re vital in the fight against biodiversity loss.

Great article by Samuel Brockington in The Conversation:
tinyurl.com/4yekcz84

@docbroc.bsky.social
@cubotanicgarden.bsky.social
@theconversation.com

Wonderful visit to @mnhn.fr

Want to work in another country?

The HFSP postdoc fellowship supports proposals for frontier, potentially transformative research in the life sciences and cross-disciplinary. high-risk projects are encouraged
LOI opens March 13, 2025

#neuroskyence #academicsky 🧪🧠🪰🌱🧬
www.hfsp.org/funding/hfsp...

Looking forward to visiting @mpipz.bsky.social tomorrow- lots of exciting science to hear about!

Loving the raspberry ripple ice cream swirls on these Oxalis versicolor flowers in the mountains house at Cambridge University Botanic Garden

Please share! A 4-year position to work on genome duplication and evolution in Bath, part of our BBSRC sLOLA project determining the extent and effects of rediploidisation across eukaryotes! www.bath.ac.uk/jobs/Vacancy...

Please Repost! We are offering a three-year fully funded doctoral researcher position to study how floral meristem patterning in woodland strawberry, and how it implicates the diversification in floral ground plans in Angiosperm flowers. jobs.helsinki.fi/job/Helsini-...