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Advent Botany

#AdventBotany 2019!

In 2014 Alastair Culham, botanist and curator of the RNG herbarium at University of Reading, hatched the idea developed of posting a Tweet, blog and Facebook entry for one plant related to Christmas for each day of advent.  At the end of that year it seemed there were far too many plants to cover in just 25 days.  So, in 2015, 2016, 2017 and
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Botanical University Challenge 2019!

Your starter for ten and no conferring: what is the closest score line you can imagine for Botanical University Challenge?!  Well read on to find out! On Wednesday 20 February 2019 the second ever Botanical University Challenge in the UK was held at the University of Reading.  Six intrepid botanical teams travelled to Reading for a botanical contest in the style of the well-known
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Advent Botany 2017 – Day 11: Let it Sloe, let it Sloe, let it Sloe!

This is Dr M’s contribution to #AdventBotany for 2017 the fourth fantastic year of this true botanical original from Alastair Culham and Dr M at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading!  The 2017 edition is curated by Alastair Culham and you can it all here. For day 11, ironically as I wrote this post it is snowing here in deepest darkest urban
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Daughter of #adventbotany 2016

Dr M says: Can you believe it? #AdventBotany is now entering it’s 3rd year and is the festive botanical one to watch! Indeed it seems only yesterday Dr M was singing the Twelve days of botany and together with his colleague Dr Alastair Culham (@BotanyRNG) invented Advent Botany – 31 inspired nuggets of botanical peace, love and joy posted here and at Culham Research Group and dispersed across the
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Botany books: Dr M’s late stocking fillers!

OK, Christmas stockings have been well and truly emptied now, so Dr M browses the library shelves for New Year botany gifts. If it’s plant ID books you are looking for then check Dr M’s review here. If its botany of the more literary and philosophical variety then read on! First up is “From Roots to Riches” the book of the landmark BBC radio
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The Son of #AdventBotany 2015!

Dr M says: I spy tinsel garlands, glass (more likely plastic!) baubles and chocolate calendars of varying quality and naffness, and Rudolph’s red nose almost in sight. And yet it seems only yesterday Dr M was composing and singing the Twelve days of botany and together with his colleague Dr Alastair Culham (@BotanyRNG) invented Advent Botany – 25 inspired nuggets of botanical peace, love and joy
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