Sharpen Your Botanical Skills: BSBI's New Webinar Series on Difficult Plants

Water Mint Mentha aquatica
Image: S. Thomas

An exciting new series of webinars is planned for 2025. They have been organised by Sam Thomas, BSBI England Officer, so over to Sam to tell us more:

"For botanists and plant enthusiasts across Britain and Ireland, the challenge of identifying certain plant groups can be both daunting and rewarding. We’re excited to announce a new series of webinars designed to demystify some of our more tricky plant groups. Join us for the opportunity to learn from national experts in three online Zoom sessions.

These webinars are perfect for anyone looking to refine their botanical skills, from more experienced botanists and BSBI County Recorders to those just beginning their plant identification journey. They are free to attend but if you’d like to make a donation towards the BSBI’s work then the option to do so is available on the booking pages. 

Hungarian Mullein
Verbascum speciosum
Image: S. Thomas

Here's a summary of what's in store:

Mulleins (Verbascum) of Britain and Ireland with Mike Crewe

Tue 22 Apr 2025 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM via Zoom - Booking Link

Identification of Verbascum species in the UK isn't always easy, especially with non-native species and hybridisation. We will start with an overview of the distribution and identification of the genus before looking more closely at the native and more frequent alien species that have been recorded in Britain and Ireland. This session will be delivered by Mike Crewe who is the BSBI’s national expert referee for Verbascum as well as an experienced nature tour leader, botanist and birder. 

Mints (Mentha) of Britain and Ireland with Ambroise Baker

Wed 7 May 2025 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM via Zoom - Booking Link 

Mints are a challenging but rewarding group which are often neglected by recorders. In this webinar Ambroise will help attendees improve their Mentha recording by providing an overview of the Mentha diversity encountered by field botanists in Britain and Ireland, discussing the recording challenges and reviewing some of the more ambiguous key characters. Ambroise is a keen field botanist and a plant ecologist by training whose interests include urban floras, grasses, bryophytes, and aquatic plants. He's also going to be leading a weekend-long workshop about mints in September, so if this webinar whets your appetite, you'll be able to follow up with some more in-depth study.

Oxtongue Broomrape Orobanche picridis
Image: S. Thomas

Broomrapes (Orobanche & Phelipanche) of Britain and Ireland with Chris Thorogood

Tue 10 Jun 2025 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM via Zoom - Booking Link

Broomrapes are among the most enigmatically beautiful plants. They are parasitic, therefore lack leaves and chlorophyll, and they have aroused curiosity for centuries. In recent years, broomrapes have sparked interest among plant enthusiasts in a similar way to orchids. In this talk Chris Thorogood (Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum), international broomrape specialist and co-author of Broomrapes of Britain & Ireland, No.22 in the series of BSBI Handbooks, will introduce some broomrapes from around the world, then focus on the species found in Britain and Ireland and how to identify them.

Huge thanks are due to all three experts for agreeing to present so please do make the most of their time and come along. Even if you can’t make it on the day we’ll be recording the webinars for the BSBI YouTube channel so you can catch up or rewatch in the future".