Dean Mac Cú Uladh

22 Aug

How amazing to find Mountain Everlasting (Antennaria dioica) on Sliabh Muc, Co. Down after a long hiatus of 146 years since Praeger last recorded it!! Other lovelies included parsley fern, beech fern, alpine club moss and dwarf willow. The Mournes deserves so much more conservation attention!!

Some recent fern sightings from around the local area Oreopteris limbosperma Hymenophyllum tunbrigense Dryopteris aemula Asplenium ceterach #botany #irishbotany #ferns

A lovely day exploring charophyte ID at Lough Money, Co. Down We refound all 5 species recorded from the site. It was a useful day to begin organising the groups of similar species together based on field morphology. We saw: Chara curta C. virgata C. hispida C. subspinosa C. vulgaris

Zostera noltei, Z. marina and Salicornia sp. at Millbay Saltmarsh, Co. Down recently Peak saltmarsh time right now before the winter fowl arrive and eat it all…

12 Sept

Bidens tripartita and Persicaria hydropiper from Loughbrickland, Co. Down - both last recorded in 1989 Such lovely wetland species

6 Sept

One of my favourite sea-side wildflowers, Rock Samphire (Crithmum maritimum) from Clogherhead, Co. Louth Lovely views of the Mourne and Cooley Mountains too #wildflowerhour

26 Aug

Such an amazing day for local and Irish botany. To make these finds in my home county is extra special. Well done to all who joined me up the mountains and for assisting with the recording. Many hands make light work!!

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany.bsky.social

Intrepid botanists headed up Slieve Muck on 18 August in the footsteps of Ireland's most famous naturalist, Robert Lloyd Praeger. They found Mountain Everlasting, a plant last recorded on the mountain by the great man himself in 1880! @bsbiireland.bsky.social Find out more: bsbi.org/about/news/p...

22 Aug

I visited a tiny slither of woodland on a crag near Binevenagh, Co. Derry recently and despite its size it packed a big punch of temperate rainforest diversity. Loads of Colura calyptrifolia and Lejeunea patens. I also found another popn of Endoantria benetecta which is the first for the county

22 Aug

Plagiochila spinulosa, Saccogyna viticulosa, Dicranum majus and Frullania tamarisci - all staples of Irish temperate rainforest. Hymenophyllum wilsonii also present which is a new Hectad record! I was told about some nice graphidion lichens here but I didn’t see them. Did find Sticta sp.

9 Aug

Some lovelies from the shores of Spelga Dam in the rain Dryopteris carthusiana - a rare fern in the Mournes Typha latifolia - the first hectad record surprisingly Sparganium angustifolium exposed by lower water levels Plus epiphytic Peltigera sp. lichen on willow Also evidence of old tree stumps

7 Aug

I got to explore Árainn Mhór on the weekend for the first time. I only had a few hours to botanise but it was great to see so much Frullania teneriffae liverwort, mounds of crowberry and creeping willow. I was also shocked how much Himalayan balsam and knotweed there was there though!!

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)

28 July

Another species checked off the list (I don’t actually have a list) with Irish Lady’s-tresses (Spiranthes romanzoffiana) from Little Trosk, Co. Antrim. Lovely to see so much lesser clubmoss beside the orchid too. Plus the amazing moss Breutelia chrysocoma telling us that it rains here a lot…

Dean Mac Cú Uladh reposted

@bsbibotany.bsky.social

27 July

We're hiring! We have a new Local Change project, building on previous monitoring projects, to provide crucial data on the state of our wild plants. Here's the background: bsbi.org/take-part/pr... We're now looking to recruit a Project Coordinator: could that be you? bsbi.org/about/news/l...

bsbi.orgLocal Change: Project Coordinator vacancy

12 July

Gymnadenia conopsea s.l., Epipactis palustris, Neottia ovata, Schoenus nigricans, Pulicaria dysenterica and Brizia media All from an alkaline fen on the Cooley Peninsula, Co. Louth

9 July

How excited I was to find Oreopteris limbosperma/lemon-scented fern from a damp heathy grassland in Cor na Muclach, Co. Louth! This is the first record of this fern from this area since Praeger’s record in 1887! It really did smell like lemons… @bsbibotany.bsky.social @bsbiireland.bsky.social

cianoceallaigh.bsky.social

9 July

A local ravine supports a wall of Plagiochila spinulosa, presumably a colony that is decades (if not longer) old, based on the thickness of the clumps. They of course fall off and I felt I had to place this huge piece back to another rock face! @bbsbryology.bsky.social

Dean Mac Cú Uladh reposted

@cianoceallaigh.bsky.social

8 July

Plagiochila carringtonii found in the sléibhte Mhám Toirce (Maamturks) at numerous locations yesterday on a Wild Atlantic Nature survey with @timoceallaigh.bsky.social + Adelanthus lindenbergianus's now 2nd site in same Mt. range Go raibh míle maith ag @nimbosaecology.bsky.social for verifying

7 July

Join me on the 18th August for an exciting day recording montane plants on Sliabh Muc in the Spelga Valley, Eastern Mournes, Co. Down You can expect Alpine Clubmoss, Parsley Fern and Stiff Sedge, and we will try our best to refind Stag’s-horn Clubmoss and Alpine Saw-wort!! bsbi.org/take-part/ev...

@bsbibotany.bsky.social @bsbiireland.bsky.social

7 July

4 July

A wonderful (but rainy) day spent on the lovely water meadows of Lower Loch Erne, Co. Fermanagh We came across local highlights such as Oenanthe fistulosa, Stellaria palustris, Ranunculus lingua and Carex diandra. Loads of Pedicularis palustris too

4 July

Then a stop on the way home to a lovely temperate rainforest in South Tyrone yielded Trichomanes specious gametophyte, Hymenophyllum tunbrigense, Peltigera collina and P. horizontalis (a new site record) Plus bryos Pseudomarsupidium decepiens and Lepidozia cupressina to top it all off!

4 July

Trichomanes speciosum*

3 July

Lythrum salicaria, Lycopus europaeus, Helosciadium inundatum and Peltigera praetextata from reedmarsh and wet woodland today, Mill Pond, Co. Down First time seeing lesser marshwort and great to see it since it is a declining species

25 June

New site for Climacium dendroides from Camloch, Co. Armagh (H37) growing on rocks along shoreline.

25 June

Join myself on the 15th July for an intermediate training course on sand dune plants at the stunning Murlough NR, Co. Down, one of the country’s best sand dune systems!! We will cover the plant ecology of sand dunes but also look at the rarer plants on Murlough too! bsbi.org/take-part/ev...

@bsbibotany.bsky.social @bsbiireland.bsky.social

25 June

This evening I paddled across to Camlough lake’s (Co. Armagh) western & southern shores which are pretty inaccessible. There is a lovely native woodland regenerating on the western side of the lake and of course I recorded plants growing along the shore & aquatic species growing in the shallows:

And to tie it all together, the swallows were skimming the lake surface, herons were screeching, mallards dancing and damselflies flirting among the reeds. Of course a proper dip into the lake was needed at the end. What else would you be doing during mid-summer??!

@bsbibotany.bsky.social @bsbiireland.bsky.social

Plants which thrive on the intersection between lake and land such as Valeriana officinalis, Alnus glutinosa and Ranunculus flammula were common sights and provided lovely colour to the evening

Heathland and woodland species also made themselves known such as Erica cinerea, Potentilla erecta and Luzula sylvatica - such a lovely blend of contrasting botanical assemblages

Great to find a selection of ferns such as Osmunda regalis and Athyrium filix-femina along the rocky shore on the edge of the woodland and Equisetum fluviatile poking out of the water near some bulrush beds

Aquatic species included blooming Persicaria amphibia in large floating mats, plentiful Littorella uniflora growing in the shallow edges among rocks, and beds of Eleocharis spp. (spikerushes)

21 June

Happy Summer Solstice - the sun has just about set here in NE Ireland. A beautiful but solitary Greater Butterfly-orchid (Platanthera chlorantha) helped mark this bittersweet day. Common blue taking a rest in the long sun and lovely views of my beautiful home. Go mbeirimid beo ar an am seo aríst

21 June

It’s still fairly bright at 10:30pm

15 June

Orchid appreciation from the Aberystwyth area, Cymru - great to be back to this lovely part of the world!! - Lesser Buttterfly-orchid (Platanthera bifolia) - Northern Marsh-orchid (Dactylorhiza purpurella) - Marsh Helleborine (Epipactis palustris) - Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis)

12 June

A few days in the limestone Derbyshire did not disappoint botanically! All new to me Rock-rose (Helianthemum nummularium), Limestone Fern (Gymnocarpium robertianum), Melancholy Thistle (Cirsium heterophyllum) & Jacob’s-ladder (Polemonium caeruleum) @bsbibotany.bsky.social

12 June

Few more: Cardamine impatiens Galium sterneri Rhamnus cathartica Melica nutans

@donnarainey4.bsky.social

7 June

A few nice finds around Dundalk, Co. Louth today: Bee orchid (Ophrys apifera) False Fox-sedge (Carex otrubae) Hairy Sedge (Carex hirta) Goat’s-beard (Tragopodon pretensions) I was too late in the day to see the goat’s-beard with an open flower! @bsbibotany.bsky.social @bsbiireland.bsky.social

Dean Mac Cú Uladh reposted

Donna Rainey

2 June

Large heath butterfly seen today at Peatlands park during Botanical Skills NI: Plant-Pollinator Relationships of Wetlands training day. With thanks to @dmac00.bsky.social @obeckett98.bsky.social for leading the training, it really was excellent. @bsbibotany.bsky.social #worldpeatlandsday

1 June

Seriously damp and humid day today in Rostrevor Oakwood, Co. Down Melica uniflora and Galium odoratum stood out today, but really the lush mosses and epiphytes were the stars of the show!!

30 May

Platanthera bifolia, Selaginella selaginoides and Pedicularis sylvatica subsp. hibernica and Pinguicula vulgaris from the Cooley Mountains, Co. Louth (H31) I suspect there are many lesser butterfly-orchids on upland wet heath and blanket bogs lurking out there!

29 May

Always a pleasure botanising in Murlough, Co. Down. Site specials include Cynoglossum oficinale (Hound’s Tongue) and Erodium lebelii (Sticky Stork’s-bill). Plenty of marsh fritillaries on the wing along with other insects. Lovely place all together! @bsbibotany.bsky.social @bsbiireland.bsky.social

28 May

You can’t discuss flowering plant ecology without discussing pollinators (and vice-versa)!! If you want to learn how identifying plant assemblages can aid in identifying their insect pollinators, sign up for this event - only a few spaces left!!

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)@bsbibotany.bsky.social

We've teamed up with our friends at the National Biodiversity Data Centre to bring you a fab all-day event about plant-pollinator relationships of wetlands. It's on 2 June at Peatlands Park, Co. Armagh & it's absolutely FREE! bsbi.org/take-part/ev... @obeckett98.bsky.social @bsbiireland.bsky.social

24 May

I’ve been enjoying mesotrophic wetland plant species recently. Great to see so much crowfoot in Newry Canal, along with Carex versicaria, Dryopteris carthusiana and Iris pseudocorus from some fen ditches in south Down #botany #fen #rivers #plants #ferns

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)

17 May

Killard NR looking as stunning as ever. How nice to find Ophioglossum vulgatum and to check in on the green-winged Orchids (Anacamptis morio) County Down is rather special…

Dean Mac Cú Uladh reposted

@bsbibotany.bsky.social

12 May

Are you based in Northern Ireland and taking part in the National Plant Monitoring Scheme @npms.bsky.social ? We have a great event for you on 19 May, with #WildFlowerID at Ecos Nature Park, Ballymena in the morning followed by training on how to survey a #NPMS square: bsbi.org/take-part/ev...

9 May

Sherardia arvensis (field madder) and Conium maculatum (poison hemlock) with plenty of stonechats today at Greencastle, Co. Down

8 May

Early-purple orchid, bulbous buttercup, Ivy-leaved crowfoot and glaucous sedge along an ancient pathway in Moygannon, Rostrevor Co. Down (H38) All new tetrads! @bsbibotany.bsky.social @bsbiireland.bsky.social