Turquoise Hellwigia opalina plant.
Group of people in a mountainous setting on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia.
🌿 NEW SPECIES TO SCIENCE: This rare turquoise “jade ginger” has been officially named Hellwigia opalina.
The story began 26 years ago on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi (pictured in 2000), where the unusual plant was spotted.
Read more: rbge.cc/jade-ginger
@axelginger.bsky.social
![“[To newcomers and seasoned editors alike: “find your people”], I guarantee there
are editors somewhere in
the world who will be as passionate about your favorite topics as you are.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:vwdzejaw4wkxh2wvkjlcubal/bafkreiew7fdqgdwl7xkde7tsvsvbbn75oas5lgos77nnidzbw3rqnuiu7a)
“[To newcomers and seasoned editors alike: “find your people”], I guarantee there are editors somewhere in the world who will be as passionate about your favorite topics as you are.”
Her dedication was recognized at Wikimania 2023, where she was honored as Wikimedia Laureate for her efforts to make scientific knowledge freely available for all. (2/2)
Black-and-white portrait of a smiling woman wearing glasses, set against a bright blue background with a stylized sunburst pattern in yellow and light blue. Text reads: Her work brings natural history to all of humanity. 2023 Wikimedia Laureate. Siobhan Leachman is a citizen scientist and open knowledge advocate from New Zealand, known for her contributions to natural history on Wikimedia projects.
Siobhan Leachman is a New Zealand citizen scientist, open knowledge advocate and prolific Wikimedian whose work focuses on natural history. She connects museum collections and biodiversity data with the public and champions open access. 🧵⬇️ (1/2)
A 3D printed recreation of an Arthropleura, the largest insect (arthropod) ever known to exist. It went extinct 300 million years ago.
Head of Engineering, DiSSCo UK based at @nhm-london.bsky.social "This is a rare opportunity to shape the national digital platform that will underpin the UK’s contribution to DiSSCo and unlock the potential of over 140 million natural science collection items." jobs.nhm.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
#ScottishPlantRecovery in the news! Find out about our work to restore populations of Britain's rarest fern at #GlenAffric with Forestry & Land Scotland: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
This is great news.
I'm reading the Save the Date for the London Open Science and Scholarship Festival 2026! blogs.ucl.ac.uk/open-access/...
New Botanics Blog on - Resurrecting the Fern; Looking Back At Our Woodsia Translocations. @thebotanics.bsky.social stories.rbge.org.uk/archives/41000
I completely agree. The sheer amount of work alongside the desire to collaborate and to do this with the European vs NZ time difference is fantastic.
Such a fan of Elspeth Haston from @thebotanics.bsky.social She's talking tools and skills for curating digitised specimens. #LivingData2025
Looking out over the city of Edinburgh, hidden in fog. Four hills are visible, which look like islands in a sea of clouds.
Looking out over the city of Edinburgh, hidden in fog. Four hills are visible, which look like islands in a sea of clouds.
Incredible thermal inversion over Edinburgh from the pentlands this morning. Taken from Carnethy hill looking north-east, you can see Turnhouse, Castlelaw, Allermuir and Caerketton hills. What you can't see is any of the city of Edinburgh!
@threadinburgh.scot @secretedinburgh.bsky.social
An adult with light skin and long straight red hair stands at an information desk in a busy room.
We've partnered with SCVO as part of the Museums Futures programme to offer 20 funded spaces on a 12-month HR Support Programme designed for museums and galleries in Scotland.
Apply by 10th October to secure your place: buff.ly/NlBb1pn
An article I collaborated on - "Wikidata for botanists: benefits of collaborating and sharing Linked Open Data" - is in this issue! See academic.oup.com/aob/article/... #Wikidata #Botanists #LinkedOpenData
Trinity College Dublin Herbarium
Calling botanical researchers, the School of Natural Science at Trinity College Dublin is hiring a tenure track Assistant Professor in Plant Biodiversity and Conservation.
I know this is someone's dream job, so let me know if that is you and you want to chat!
my.corehr.com/pls/trrecrui...
Photo of Benmore Fernery before renovation - Photo from MAST Archives
Photo of Benmore Fernery taken from RBGE Botanic Stories
Blog post of one of the @thebotanics.bsky.social Specialist Gardens - Benmore Fernery. herbariumworld.wordpress.com/2025/09/26/d...
"National Trust properties are testament to both sides of this story." Nicely written piece.
Stately old trees this week at Benmore Botanic Garden @thebotanics.bsky.social
Dive into TaNC’s Discovery Projects Final Reports—full of groundbreaking research, actionable recommendations & inspiring case studies. This work helped shape the vision for N-RICH (shorturl.at/jGK7C). Don’t miss this rich resource of insight and innovation!
lnkd.in/eFHsjiC6
Same with sodding dandelions and sorbus aren't much better.
Screenshot of sthe plash page of BGCI Introduction to Biosecurity for Botanic Gardens and Arboteta
New Online Module from BGCI: Introduction to Biosecurity for Botanic Gardens and Arboreta – a new, free online module designed specifically for professionals working in botanic gardens and arboreta.
www.bgci.org/news-events/...
¡Justicia!
Rosa Villanueva-Espinoza and colleagues have just described 21 new species from this beautiful genus, all endemic to Peru.
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
Get your Rhododendron ideas in order, as there is a @sibbaldia.bsky.social Special Issue: Rhododendron in living collections: collaboration, conservation and cultivation - on the way from @thebotanics.bsky.social Deadline for receipt of submissions: 10 Jan 2026 journals.rbge.org.uk/rbgesib/anno...
A blog about a recently published paper of my colleagues and mine. blog.tepapa.govt.nz/2025/07/14/t...
Fantastic exhibition.
Graines - Thierry Ardouin.
www.neimenster.lu/en/events/gr...
I had to look at the tasting notes - and now I'm all of a flutter - is it excellent? NOTES "The nose has notes of dried fruits and hazelnut with hints of citrus. The palate has delicate peach and apricot notes with a vibrant youth and rich maturity, citrus all through to the finish."
