There are a total of six papers in British & Irish Botany: issue 8.1 published in February. Further details here.
British & Irish Botany: issue 8.1
British & Irish Botany: issue 8.1
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Changing status of Calystegia soldanella (Sea Bindweed; Convolvulaceae) on the Sefton Coast, North Merseyside, UK
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Botanical University Challenge
This is an annual contest of botanical knowledge between teams of UK and Irish university students.
There is a channel name (@BotanicalUniversityChallenge) but just searching for Botanical University Challenge will find it. The result of the 3 early rounds will be that the 4 teams with the highest scores will be in the semi-final on 19 August. That will be held live, but also streamed on YouTube. It is all recorded so you can watch it later, and indeed there are now recordings going back several years on YouTube.
Further details at Botanical University Challenge – Annual botanical knowledge contest between university students
This is an annual contest of botanical knowledge between teams of UK and Irish university students.
There is a channel name (@BotanicalUniversityChallenge) but just searching for Botanical University Challenge will find it. The result of the 3 early rounds will be that the 4 teams with the highest scores will be in the semi-final on 19 August. That will be held live, but also streamed on YouTube. It is all recorded so you can watch it later, and indeed there are now recordings going back several years on YouTube.
Further details at Botanical University Challenge – Annual botanical knowledge contest between university students
Annual Mercury at Ainsdale and Formby
I found more flowering Annual Mercury Mercurialis annua at Formby Bridge on 3 & 23 January. It is by a bus stop at the west end of Formby Bridge against a wall at SD28930680, around 200 metres west of Formby Railway Station. It continued to flower through February and into March 2026.
Seven plants (including three male plants in flower) of Annual Mercury Mercurialis annua have been found at Kenilworth Road, Ainsdale. This is seemingly the first vice county record since 2004, and there are only a total of 14 records between 1902 and 2004. Robert Freeth found it on 27 November, and Phil Smith later confirmed it. It is on the grassland verges right in the NE corner by Shore Road at SD30721243. This patch has recently been dug for utility works, and the disturbance has allowed annuals to grow. The last records at Ainsdale were in 1941 and 1947. The last record for this species was actually on an LBS Trip at Rimrose Valley in 2004. Further information on this species in Lancashire is in the Flora of South Lancashire Vascular Plants at https://northwesternnaturalistsunion.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/VC59-069-Euphorbiaceae-24-03-2025.pdf
It is native to the Middle East and the Mediterranean region, growing on bare, sandy soils. In Britain, it is a weed of disturbed, cultivated and waste ground, including allotments, gardens, rubbish tips, walls, and roadsides, especially on light, nutrient-rich soils and as an urban weed, and is mainly found in the south east of England and only occasionally elsewhere. Mercurialis annua L. in BSBI Online Plant Atlas 2020
The species-rich grassland verges of Kenilworth Road are discussed in Floral diversity of road verges at Ainsdale, Merseyside by P.H. Smith & P.A. Lockwood in BSBI News 119, pages 34-36 https://archive.bsbi.org/BSBINews119.pdf
Seven plants (including three male plants in flower) of Annual Mercury Mercurialis annua have been found at Kenilworth Road, Ainsdale. This is seemingly the first vice county record since 2004, and there are only a total of 14 records between 1902 and 2004. Robert Freeth found it on 27 November, and Phil Smith later confirmed it. It is on the grassland verges right in the NE corner by Shore Road at SD30721243. This patch has recently been dug for utility works, and the disturbance has allowed annuals to grow. The last records at Ainsdale were in 1941 and 1947. The last record for this species was actually on an LBS Trip at Rimrose Valley in 2004. Further information on this species in Lancashire is in the Flora of South Lancashire Vascular Plants at https://northwesternnaturalistsunion.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/VC59-069-Euphorbiaceae-24-03-2025.pdf
It is native to the Middle East and the Mediterranean region, growing on bare, sandy soils. In Britain, it is a weed of disturbed, cultivated and waste ground, including allotments, gardens, rubbish tips, walls, and roadsides, especially on light, nutrient-rich soils and as an urban weed, and is mainly found in the south east of England and only occasionally elsewhere. Mercurialis annua L. in BSBI Online Plant Atlas 2020
The species-rich grassland verges of Kenilworth Road are discussed in Floral diversity of road verges at Ainsdale, Merseyside by P.H. Smith & P.A. Lockwood in BSBI News 119, pages 34-36 https://archive.bsbi.org/BSBINews119.pdf
Part 1 of Peter Gateley's talk on 9 November 2024 "Introduction to Grasses" is on You Tube at https://youtu.be/mgGHS6SX8PI