Botanical snippets for December

For the botanist who takes one look out of the window and opts to curl up with a warm laptop instead, here are a few botanical bits and bobs you might want to take a look at:

Spurge-laurel Daphne laureola
Blooming at Dancersend NR,
Bucks., 28/12/2015.
Image: R. Clark

1. New on the BSBI's plant Identification page, this Key to Balsam Poplars by Andy Amphlett, BSBI's County Recorder for Banffshire.

2. A fascinating paper here by Quentin Groom et al. - including several BSBI County Recorders - titled 'A benchmark survey of the common plants of south Northumberland and Durham' and here is Quentin's blogpost about the paper.

3. An inspiring blogpost by New Year Plant Hunt Co-ordinator Ryan Clark about his many contributions to biological recording this past year.

4. A date for your diaries, if you'd like to hear a talk on Carnivorous Plants in Winchester on 9th January. The talk is sponsored by the excellent Hants. Flora Group - details on their homepage here. 

5. Three British Ecological Society Guides to Better Science available free to download here.  

6. If you are concerned about botanical diversity at a global scale, you may be interested in these plans for a new Plant Conservation Nursery. Robbie has also written a note about this project, to be published in the January issue of BSBI News (which is only available to BSBI members, sorry!).

7. Want some further reading? Try this review of five recently-published botany books by the notorious Dr. M. or head over to Summerfield Books' website here. 

That lot should keep us all entertained until it's time for the New Year Plant Hunt to start!