Stimulating desert flower A blog about plants and gardens (gardening, botany, algae and fungi)

More on this rather striking, and stimulating, desert flower from Morocco. #Cistanche

talkingplants.blogspot.com/2026/04/stim...

Yes, late summer

Just back from three weeks in Morocco, leading an ASA Cultural Tour (www.asatours.com.au/tours/landsc...). Great fun, especially the final night fling (rendered here by my son Jerome and presumably AI). Returning April next year...

Mine flowered in Glen Iris, late January.

Funny, I didn't check. But almost certainly yes!

A sweet little endemic lavender in Morocco, Lavandula maroccana. On a hill side near Ouirgane, on the northern side of the High Atlas Mountains, about 50 km south of Marrakesh

Three World Oak: 'the first memoir dedicated to a plant genus' A blog about plants and gardens (gardening, botany, algae and fungi)

Advance notice of my new oak book, due out 1 September 2026. Is it the world's first memoir of a genus? You be the judge.

Preorder now (links in my blog post) or find in your local book shop in the Australian sprinter/spring.

talkingplants.blogspot.com/2026/02/thre...

I'm sure I'm not the first to note that Lincoln's Gettysburg Address was delivered in a couple of minutes (acknowledging that it followed a speech that rivaled the current President's in length).

TAKING PLANTS WITH TIM ENTWISLE (LIVE!)
A New Science Talk Series at Botanic Gardens of Sydney
10.00-11.30 am, 6 May

First up, Dr Hervé Sauquet, who collaborated with @rbgkew.bsky.social to assemble the most comprehensive flowering plant ‘Tree of Life’ ever
www.botanicgardens.org.au/whats-on/tal...

The oak book? A blog about plants and gardens (gardening, botany, algae and fungi)

What happened to my oak book? Well, it's in production!

talkingplants.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...

Happy New Year and a belated Merry Christmas (Bells) from the roadside of Tourist Road, Glenquarry

Blandfordia nobilis (Christmas bells), Thysanotus tuberosus (common fringe-lily) and two orchids: Cryptostylis leptochila (small tongue-orchid) and Caleana major (flying duck orchid)

That bloody carousel, with its insane tunes on repeat all day (not sure if still outside our home, as it was then...)

Wowza!

@greenj.bsky.social A happy and joyful festive season to you and yours. This is what I'm up to, among other things. :)

Will my mistakes ‘keep the professors busy for centuries’?

A Christmas reflection
talkingplants.blogspot.com/2025/12/will...

Photo: The author correcting errors as an angry crowd looks on (aka Signing copies of his latest book in Armidale)

Returning also to the Wingecarribee River, catching up with pelicans as I paddle

A little Australian floral razzamatazz in the new 'Dryland Garden' at the Australian Botanic Garden, Mount Annan (near Sydney). Swainsona formosa, Sturt's Desert Pea, found naturally in Central Australia.

Tim Entwisle seated at a table with stacks of his book 'The Sceptical Botanist'. He is smiling at the camera and has a copy of one book opened to the title page, with a pen in his hand ready to sign the book.

Tim Entwisle standing at a lectern on a stage, smiling out at the audience. Beside him is a large projector screen showing a lush green garden landscape and the words 'The Sceptical Botanist'.

Tim Entwisle seated at a table with a display of his books, surrounded by people. He is signing the title page of a copy of 'The Sceptical Botanist'.

Tim Entwisle smiles at the camera. He is wearing a suit and holding a notebook, and is seated on a white barstool at the front of a room. Beside him is a small white table, upon which rests a microphone and a display of his book 'The Sceptical Botanist'.

We love author events! 🥳

Tim Entwisle, author of The Sceptical Botanist, has been busy doing talks and signings since the book's August release – have you caught any of them?

Get your copy from your local bookshop or online: www.publishing.csiro.au/book/8151/

@timentwisle.bsky.social

Wood-wide web unravels [excerpt] A blog about plants and gardens (gardening, botany, algae and fungi)

Wood-wide web unravels? My take on the phenomenon that is more hype than hyphae...

talkingplants.blogspot.com/2025/10/wood...

📅 The Sceptical Botanist, separating fact from fiction - Talk at Mueller with Tim Entwisle - 13 Oct 2025 🗓️ 13 Oct 2025 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM 📍 Mueller Hall

If you are in Melbourne on Monday 13 October, the wonderful Friends of Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne are hosting my talk on a life in botanic gardens and the new book, 'The Sceptical Botanist'.

Books available for sale and signing

rbgfriendsmelbourne.tidyhq.com/public/sched...

'The Sceptical Botanist: Separating Fact from Fiction' (CSIRO Publishing, 2025) is now, after some technical issues, available on Kindle!

I can find it now on Amazon UK and hopefully it will appear very shortly on Amazon Australia (and Amazon Universe, if that exists)

The back paddock...

Actually, over the fence from the lovely Moss Vale dogs-off-leash area, with Reg, our cocker spaniel, beside me looking longingly (at rabbits too)

Exciting for those not living in southern Australia, and perhaps for some who are. The flying duck orchid (Caleana major) seen in Willow Vale, near to my new home town.

And in case you find all plants dull, I've included a local bird: a gang gang...

Tim Entwisle smiles at the camera. He is wearing a suit and holding a notebook, and is seated on a white barstool at the front of a room. Beside him is a small white table, upon which rests a microphone and a display of his book 'The Sceptical Botanist'.

Tim Entwisle has been busy doing interviews and events for his new book The Sceptical Botanist... have you caught any of them?

We love this happy snap from the book launch at Royal Botanic Garden Sydney last month.

@timentwisle.bsky.social | #Botany

The Age/SMH, this morning (Saturday, 30 August)

If you happen to be in Bowral (Southern Highlands, New South Wales, Australia, Earth) on 5 September 2025, here is something you might do. I'll be there 🙂

www.thebookshopbowral.com.au/event-info/t...

As Morgan said in her repost, look past the tardigrade to the glistening green Hydrodictyon (water net), just one of many beautiful (under the microscope) freshwater algae:

"@fwredalgae.bsky.social Lovely! The #algae is Hydrodictyon -common name water net 😀."

A vivid red form of this always stunning species, Fritillaria imperialis. Here in Iran, at the westerly end of its natural range from the Middle East to the Himalaya, thanks to the wonderful photography of Sajad Alipour

Beautiful colours

I think that's the best approach. While it seems an unlikely world distribution there is no definitive evidence it is a weed in Australia. It might be, or maybe not. More in the book, but that's the punchline!