British & Irish Botany: issue 7.2 published

Lady's-slipper Orchid
Image courtesy of
Rob Still & Chris Gibson
https://plantatlas2020.org/atlas
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We've just published the latest issue of British & Irish Botany, the online, Open Access scientific journal of the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI). This new issue contains seven papers which we think will be of interest to botanists across Britain and Ireland and - very much so, regarding one of the papers! - also to readers further afield.

In addition to original research articles, British & Irish Botany also welcomes forum articles—short pieces that express a view on a particular topic, intended to stimulate debate and advance ideas. The first article in this issue is a thought-provoking opinion piece by Dave Trudgill on the reintroduction programmes for the Lady's-slipper Orchid (Cypripedium calceolus) which examines the successes and challenges of the scheme and raises important questions about its long-term sustainability. We are aware that this is a sensitive and potentially contentious topic, and we expect to publish a response presenting an alternative perspective in the next issue.

Our second paper is about the first records from Britain and Ireland of a new hybrid comfrey, Symphytum x ferrariense, the hybrid between Common Comfrey (S. officinale) and White Comfrey (S. orientale). Bob Leaney et al. report on newly-discovered populations in Cambridgeshire, Cheshire and Norfolk. Bob is well-known to many readers, both via his previous publications on comfreys and also his many helpful plant ID resources, a selection of which can be found on our Plant Identification for experienced botanists page. 

Symphytum x ferrariense
Image: Bob Leaney

Then we have a paper about drift seeds washed up on our shores. Dan Minchin et al. report on achenes of sea-grapes (Coccoloba spp.) recorded in Co. Sligo and Co. Cork -these are believed to be the first such records on European shores. Sea-grapes occur on American Atlantic coasts, from Bermuda to Argentina, so these achenes are presumed to have crossed the Atlantic Ocean.

Next up is a paper by Chris Skilbeck and Michael Wilcox investigating variation in British restharrows (Ononis spp.). Using morphological observations and flow cytometry, they examined intermediates between tetraploid Common Restharrow (O. repens) and diploid Spiny Restharrow (O. spinosa). Contrary to expectations that such intermediates would be triploid, they found all to be diploid - suggesting these plants may represent a form of O. spinosa or a hybrid derivative that has undergone diploidisation.

Ononis repens
Image: C. Skilbeck

This paper is particularly poignant as Chris Skilbeck (1970-2025) passed away unexpectedly just a week before publication. Chris was a Scientific Associate at the Natural History Museum, London, where he worked on taxonomic problems in the British flora and contributed significantly to their herbarium collections. He was also an active member of the BSBI and a regular contributor to British & Irish Botany, producing articles on achene dispersal in the Asteraceae, on achene morphology of British and Irish Mayweeds and Chamomiles and on intermediates between Sea and Scentless Mayweed in Orkney. Chris will be greatly missed by all who knew him, and our thoughts are with his family at this very sad time.

We then have a summary of the current state of the montane and submontane plants of the Moffat Hills in Dumfriesshire by Chris Miles, BSBI's Vice-County Recorder. Chris has been surveying the Hills in an attempt to refind the 63 plant species recorded there by Derek Ratcliffe in 1958 and determine their current distribution, and we can now hear the results of his hunts. 

Next up, we have a paper by Tim Rich et al. describing three new endemic species of British hawkweed. Tim is one of our most prolific contributors. In our last issue, we published a paper by Tim and Libby Houston in which they make a number of new combinations in Sorbus ahead of the publication of their highly anticipated second edition of BSBI Handbook no. 14: Whitebeams, Rowans and Service Trees. The new Handbook will also include other members of the Rose family (Rosaceae) so to complete this issue, we are pleased to publish a paper by Mike Fay et al. with eight new combinations in pears (Pyrus spp.) and a new combination for a species of Cotoneaster naturalised in Kent. We'll be telling you more about the forthcoming Handbook as soon as it nears publication and as always, there will be a hefty discount for BSBI members buying a copy. 

We hope that you will enjoy the latest issue of our journal and as always we would encourage you to get in touch with us (Stuart and Louise) if you have research you'd like to publish about the British and Irish flora. Either email us for an informal chat or bite the bullet, check these submission guidelines and send us your contribution. We look forward to hearing from you!