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eXtreme botany

Dr M’s Poaceae quiz – the answers!

Tried Dr M’s Poaceae quiz?  If not have a go here… then check the answers below… Some common grasses can be ID’d quite easily e.g. Dactylis glomerata (Cock’s-foot) which can often be reliably identified from 100 paces and definitely a species to ID from a moving vehicle at speed! Other grasses can only really be ID’d to genus from a photo and some only
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Dr M’s Poaceae quiz: Part the Second

Dr M says: Your patience is rewarded and here at last is Part the Second of Dr M’s long-awaited Poaceae quiz! Grasses, so the Poaceae song goes, and as Dr M’s students on University of Reading MSc Plant Diversity know well, have “flowers reduced to spikelets strange yet magical”. The grass spikelet is indeed a wondrous thing and has an intrinsic beauty and fascination
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Dr M’s Poaceae quiz – Part the First: a family of grasses green and wonderful!

Ah, the English Summer, that time of uncertain sunshine and certain hay fever! Hay fever or not, regular visitor to these pages will know that Dr M is particularly fond of grasses – or Poaceae or Graminea or whatever you like to call them! And to celebrate all that is green wonderful Dr M’s first Poaceae ID quiz is coming to these pages –
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Dr M’s summer ID quiz – the answers!

Dr M says: Did you try my summer botany quiz?  If not check it out here and then come back for the answers. If you took the summer plant ID test read on for the answers! Here are the thirty-six plants with their common names, see bottom of this post for the latin names arranged by family to check your full botanical answers! Check out Dr
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Dr M’s summer botany quiz is a comin’ in!

Summer was a comin’ in but for sure it is here now and that can mean only one thing: it’s high time for a Dr M summer plant ID quiz! Recently Dr M has been out and about checking what’s in flower and what’s not and below are images of thirty-six common species currently in flower. Can you ID the family, genus and species of each
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Dr M’s 30 days wild!

Dr M has always been going wild about plants and nature, even way before he launched drmgoeswild.com back in April 2013, and so naturally he is delighted to see that The Wildlife Trusts have a campaign for June 2015 they say: Make room for nature this June – no matter where you are or how busy your life! Make this the month when you do
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Dr M’s Botany bus Diary – Day 5 Wistmans Wood, Dartmoor

Day 5 of Dr M’s University of Reading MSc Plant Diversity field course and our eXtreme botanists head from the coast of Dorset to Cornwall making a diversion through the uplands of Dartmoor, and a stop off at Wistman’s Wood – a rare relict example of the ancient upland woodlands of Dartmoor. Wistman’s Wood, situated amidst acid grassland heath and bog, is a famous botanical site situated on
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London’s first Moss Trail!

Dr M is delighted to present this post on London’s first moss trail at the South London Botanical Institute (SLBI), based in Tulse Hill, launched London’s first Moss Trail in its garden on Saturday 14 March 2015. The Moss Trail features twelve different kinds of moss, all clearly labelled in a trail around the garden. The Moss Trail launch was part of the SLBI’s “Moss Day”
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Dr M’s Ten Plants project to inspire young botanists!

The CBBC classical music initiative “Ten Pieces“ started in the autumn term of 2014 and aims to inspire a generation of primary children to get creative with classical music. With a week of free cinema screenings for primary schools across the country, the project culminates in two Ten Pieces Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in July 2015. So successful has “Ten Pieces” been in the
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The Faces of Fascination of Plants Day!

Fascination of Plants Day 2015 brought over 130 local school children to the University of Reading for a Festival of Fascinating Fossils lead by Dr Macarena Cardenas and a Monkey Puzzle walk lead by Dr M and Professor Tomato (aka Professor John Warren). Dr M was amazed!  The weather was not on our side, there was wind there was rain but still the schools came and
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