Latest issue of BSBI News now out.

A tricky Whitebeam: Sorbus greenii
Image: D. Green. 

The latest issue of BSBI News has now been published and is winging its way towards BSBI members as we speak. 

It was delayed slightly so that we could include a print copy of the latest BSBI Annual Review - hot off the press and soon to appear on the BSBI website. 

You will also find a flyer, with booking form and programme, inviting you to this year's BSBI Annual Exhibition Meeting. For non-members (who are also welcome at the AEM), we'll be posting the flyer later this week on this page. 

But here's a sneak preview of what you can expect when you open your copy of BSBI News:

A note about Sorbus greenii which also features on the front cover of this issue of BSBI News.

Mibora minima with 5p piece for scale
Image: S. Bungard/P. Smith

A paper on the botanical interest of Runnymede in this year of the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta.

Two responses to the recent paper published in the last issue of BSBI News and in Times Higher Education, bemoaning the current paucity of field biology courses in our universities. 

A new record for Scotland - the tiny Mibora minima on North Uist, spotted by sharp-eyed Oli Pescott, photographed by Stephen Bungard and reported here. It is known from East Lothian as a presumed introduction from 1851, but this is the first record of it growing in the wild in Scotland.

Harebells in the Burren Botany Bubble
Image courtesy of M. Bermingham

An article about the Burren Botany Bubble, featured on these pages a few months ago.

Plans for New Journal of Botany, which is available on-line here. Members can click through to papers by using their password (email Alex if you've forgotten it) and non-members can read the abstracts and see what they're missing!  

A report from Scotland on successful training workshops for beginners; and notes from BSBI members and country officers on interesting species recorded this summer across Britain and Ireland.

A note from Mel Linney about orchid finds in South Yorks., which includes the image below!

Spotted on a S. Yorks road verge
Image courtesy of M. Linney

Foraging has enjoyed a revival in interest in recent years. Some BSBI members are, or have been in the past, active foragers and consider it an excellent way to get people involved in the natural world. Other members worry about the impact on plant populations. 

BSBI News offers two papers presenting both sides of the argument, in the hope that members will join in the debate. Leave a comment below if you have strong feelings either way but are not yet a BSBI member. And remember - if you join BSBI, you will receive three print copies of BSBI News each year. If you join today, your one-year subscription runs right through to 31 December 2016!