Autumn brings eXtreme botanical challenges of the bryophyte variety: mosses flourish and become especially luxuriant in the wet autumnal weather and it is an ideal time to renew and refresh our acquaintance with these marvellous little plants!
Leaves are turning beautiful shades of yellow, orange, red and brown and are falling from the trees – aided and abetted by the winds, there can be no denying autumn is here!
To key plant families, for example using the Book of Stace, it is very important to understand the structure of the flower very precisely, how many perianth whorls (e.g. petals and sepals), how many stamens (male parts – the androecium) and how many carpels, stigmas, and so on (female parts – the gynoecium).
Dr M has already posted on the top 20 UK plant families and the series is on-going. Here Dr M continues a series of cameos on a selection of these families together with his top tips for family recognition. Asteraceae: the Daisy or Dandelion or Composite or Aster family. A large and diverse family but the really key feature is the composite inflorescence. Yes, those
Learn more »
Dr M is very fond of taking his students into the University of Reading Herbarium to demonstrate the role of the modern herbarium in teaching, research and consultancy.
Dr M is teaching the top 20 UK plant families and, as regular followers of drmgoeswild.com will know, he has already posted in some detail on a number of these families and the series is on-going. Here Dr M provides starts a short series of cameos on a selection of these families with top tips for family recognition. Fabaceae: the Pea or Legume family.
Learn more »
Twenty-six botanists from Dr M’s Vegetation Survey and Assessment MSc class have produced the first ever living botanical glossary known to science (unless, of course, you know better?!).
As regular visitors will know, Dr M is currently teaching British tree identification in his Vegetation Survey and Assessment module on the MSc Plant Diversity and MSc Species Identification and Survey Skills. Amongst the features which help in putting a name to a tree include the twigs, leaves and buds. Buds come in all shapes and sizes and colours, all can be helpful for ID.
Dr M in full flow talking to the trees! (image courtesy of Waheed Arshad). Dr M is currently teaching British tree identification in his Vegetation Survey and Assessment module on the MSc Plant Diversity and MSc Species Identification and Survey Skills. During a recent 2-hour walk in autumnal sunshine, the class collected twigs and leaves from no fewer than 27 genera.
The BBC and nature have become synonymous not least through the extraordinary work of David Attenborough. The BBC Nature website is well worth a visit for information, images and videos on plants and their habitats. The BBC Nature Places pages provide information from all over the world, follow the UK link to British plants and habitats.