Barcode of Life - on Radio 4 now, in BSBI News last year. 

Reunited at the BSBI/RBGE Mapping Conference 2013:
Pearman, Preston & Dines (l to r),
 Co-editors of the New Atlas of the British & Irish Flora.
Image: L. Marsh

Good to hear Prof Pete Hollingsworth from RBGE on Radio 4's 'Inside Science' programme last night - and up on iPlayer now - talking about the International Barcode of Life project. 

BSBI Scottish Officer Jim McIntosh opens the Conference
Image: L. Marsh

Pete told his fellow BSBI members about the project at last year's BSBI/RBGE Mapping Conference, when he summarised emerging opportunities for enhancing our understanding of plant biodiversity based on recent developments in molecular genetics.

Dr Natasha de Vere of National Botanic Garden of Wales also spoke about Britain's contribution to the International Barcode of Life project, with her work at Barcode Wales.

You can see the abstracts of their talks here, along with those of all our other conference speakers. Six of these presentations have since been written up as papers in New Journal of Botany, with more promised for 2014. Report on the Conference in BSBI News #122 - not yet available to non-members, sorry.

Tim Rich and Taraxacum breconense, a rare Welsh endemic
Image: C. Gait

For those of us new to the subject, there is a helpful Beginners guide to DNA barcoding and another here.

And yes, the Tim Rich mentioned in the reports on Barcode Wales is the very same BSBI botanist/handbook author/NJB editor who is co-ordinating the BSBI New Year's Day Plant Hunt. Have you decided yet where and when you will be recording which wild or naturalised plants are in flower just now? Don't forget to take some selfies while out in the field and send them to me so they can be posted here on the Blog. 

Find out what inspired Tim to become a botanist here (bottom left).