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Karen Andrews

@botanykaren.bsky.social
209 followers 202 following 140 posts

Wiltshire and Somerset botanist, nature-lover and garden visitor. Languages and photography. botanykaren.net

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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 16/10/2026
#Autumn colours on walk at #Bowood Arboretum today
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 16/10/2026
Fly Agaric, Amanita muscaria seen today in Bowood Arboretum, Wiltshire
Fly Agaric
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Seeing lots of yellow blurs of Common Toadflax at roadsides while driving at the moment. This particular plant was near the grotto at The Newt, Somerset yesterday.
Common Toadflax
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Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
You can vote for as many images as you like; the images are randomly ordered on each visit. Inclusive: padlet.com/BSBI/bpoty-2... Inquisitive: padlet.com/BSBI/bpoty-2... Intrepid: padlet.com/BSBI/bpoty-2... Open: padlet.com/BSBI/bpoty-2... Staff: padlet.com/BSBI/bpoty-2...
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Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
We’ve been bowled over by the standard for this year's Botanical Photographer of the Year. It's now time for public shortlisting. Use the links below to view the entries into this year's competition and vote for all those you think are particularly impressive. Shortlisting will run until 31 Oct.
bsbi.org
Botanical Photographer of the Year
The BSBI is for everyone who cares about the wild plants of Britain and Ireland.
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Sunset above fields in Melksham this evening
Sunset
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UN Environment Programme @unep.org · 02/10/2026
The signal is clear: we're heading for a future warmer than the Paris Agreement goal of 1.5°C. What does this mean in practice? We break down "overshoot" into five key things to understand: www.unep.org/news-and-sto...
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Heron beside the the canal lock gates in evening glow near Seend, Wiltshire.
Heron standing still at edge of canal
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Harebells, Campanula rotundifolia, on the chalk of Cherhill, Wiltshire today.
Harebells
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
This was my #favouriteplant of the year #wildflowerhour
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wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
For the last weekly challenge, we want to know what was your favourite plant that you’ve spotted from across Britain and Ireland this year? Share your pics for #wildflowerhour this Sunday 8-9pm using the hashtag #favouriteplant and we’ll celebrate it with you! 🥳🌿🌸
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Fond memories of summer at #BSBI Annual Summer Meeting #ASM The 🦖 🦕 dinosaur hat was an emergeny measure in the heat - a child’s hat 😂was only one available locally against the sun☀️ bsbi.org/blog/2026/07...
bsbi.org
Annual Summer Meeting 2026 in Wales
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Monkey Puzzle canopy in Southleigh Woods, Wiltshire seen with #WiltsBotSoc
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Sad to hear Dr M has passed away this week. He was an inspirational botanical teacher.
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Botanical University Challenge @bucbotany.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
🌿🌾🌳🌍🍞🎼We are sad that Jonathan Mitchley ('DrM') passed away this week. BUC and especially the Student Botany Festival, would not exist without him. He made a big impact on the UK & Irish student botany community. Competition & festival will continue in 2027. www.reading.ac.uk/news/2026/Un...
Man looking to his right.
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Dewberry, Rubus caesius, for #Wildflowerhour #Seedheads
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
The curly wurly #Seedheads of Meadowsweet
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
somersetleveller.co.uk/news/somerse...
somersetleveller.co.uk
Somerset walkway named Britain’s Favourite Path 2026! – The Somerset Leveller
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Delighted to discover parasitic Dodder, Cuscuta europaea, along the canal at Claverton, near Bath today #wildflowerhour
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Lots of Hops, Humulus lupulus, along the canal at Claverton, near Bath today. #wildflowerhour
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The Dirt | Horticulture News Daily @thedirtnews.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Barbican Conservatory to hold plant adoption events ahead of major restoration thedirt.news/barbican-con...
thedirt.news
Barbican Conservatory to hold plant adoption events ahead of major restoration
More than 2,000 cuttings are being taken from the Barbican Conservatory’s plant collection ahead of its major restoration, with propagated plants to be offered to the pub...
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Patient sunset botany brings its reward: Night-flowering Catchfly, Silene noctiflora. And a few strange looks from local residents…
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Missed #wildflowerhour while out walking over and under the viaduct at Brassknocker Basin near Bath this evening. I particularly enjoyed seeing Small Teasel, Dipsacus pilosus, beside the canal and river.
Small Teasel.
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Loved seeing so much Sea Holly #stillflowering yesterday in the Llanelli dunes at #BSBI #ASM in Wales.
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Look how dry it is in Wales at #BSBI #ASM in Wales! Lots of these strange ‘snail plants’ in the Llanelli dunes.
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Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Say hello to the botanists who started it all! We've added 300+ digitised historical titles to our website, from County Floras to periodicals to Herbals dating back to 1571. We're also bringing our digital archives home & unlocking vital plant history. Explore & support: bsbi.org/blog/2026/07...
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wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Phew it’s been so hot lately!This week’s challenge is to find those wild & naturalised plants that are surviving the drought conditions & are #StillFlowering! Share your finds for #wildflowerhour this Sunday 8-9pm!
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
Fabulous drifts of Common Sea-lavender at peak flowering on botanical walk with SRPG at Clevedon Pill yesterday. #wildflowerhour
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
Common Cordgrass, Spartina anglica as seen with SRPG yesterday on saltmarsh at Clevedon Pill. I resorted to video because photography gave only a blur in the wind!
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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Some places remind you just how rich nature can be. Today's Wiltshire Botanical Society field meeting at Distillery Meadows was one of those experiences. I was amazed by the variety of wildflowers. Thanks to Nick Self (WWT) and everyone for an inspiring walk through these flower-rich meadows. 🌿
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Peacocks showing off and enjoying the empty hot evening streets of #Corsham, #Wiltshire
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Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Today is the start of #INNSweek. Find out how you can help by learning about & recording invasive non-native plant species: bsbi.org/blog/2026/06... Check out the GB Non-native Species Secretariat website for webinars, resources & more ways to get involved: www.nonnativespecies.org/what-can-i-d...
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Cheddar Bedstraw, Galium fleurotii in its typical rocky habitat in Cheddar as seen with #SomersetRarePlantsGroup yesterday. No longer treated as a subspecies of Galium pumilum, Slender Bedstraw.
Cheddar Bedstraw, Galium fleurotii.Cheddar Bedstraw, Galium fleurotii
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Fran Sinclair @notfrangible.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
No #LawnFlowers from me, just grassed areas - like this area with a beautiful population of Bath Asparagus; the bees love it! #WildflowerHour
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Kat Newbert @ghostofdatura.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Lotus subbiflorus looking splendid in the afternoon sun down in Dorset today.
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
I missed #wildflowerhour but here is Cheddar Pink from Sunday’s walk with the Somerset Rare Plants Group.
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Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
We are so proud of Pete Stroh (BSBI Scientific Officer) & Helena Crouch ( #BSBICountyRecorder & #BSBItrustee)! Yesterday they were awarded the hugely prestigious 2026 Marsh Botany Award by the Marsh Charitable Trust for services to UK botany! Here's why: www.marshcharitabletrust.org/award/marsh-...
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Lizzie Harper Illustrator @lizzie-harper.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
New blog out, on doing #botanicalillustrations of #apple #blossom, what to look out for, and what the challenges might be... I should have written it at the time, now you'll have to wait a whole year for blossom season to come around again! #sciart #malus lizzieharper.co.uk/2026/05/illu...
lizzieharper.co.uk
Illustrating apple blossom - Lizzie Harper
Illustrating apple blossom discusses the challenges and joys of completing botanical illustrations of this fruit blossom by Lizzie Harper
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Fran Sinclair @notfrangible.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Family get together in the gutter - Polypogon viridis and monspeliensis today near the supermarket
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Clematis and Aquilegia from my #garden
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Big Meadow Search @bigmeadowsearch.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Crane’s-bill identification resources: The Wildflower Society thewildflowersociety.org.uk/wp-content/u... From Moira O’Donnell irp.cdn-website.com/7dfe45d9/fil... BSBI Archive pg22-28 archive.bsbi.org.uk/BSBINews99.pdf
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Mignonette from #WiltsBotSoc on Sunday.
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
www.kew.org/read-and-wat...
kew.org
Kew’s botanical hoaxes: the specimens that tricked even the experts
Kew’s Digitisation Project has uncovered that not everything pressed between the pages of the herbarium is as it seems. But who orchestrated these botanical tricks decades ago, and why?
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BSBI Scotland @bsbiscotland.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
The things we do for plants…
Being eaten alive by a cave whilst hunting for ferns. Just my legs are sticking out of a narrow slot, whilst a fellow botanist photographs my predicament 😂
Photo by Ruth Alexander, NTS
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
A little family grouping of Sand Cat’s-tail, Phleum arenarium at Minehead today. #wildflowerhour
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
Sand Catchfly, Silene conica as seen with Somerset Rare Plants Group at Minehead today. Where we froze and were sand- and wind-blasted in our botanical madness. #wildflowerhour
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Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
We're calling on all plant-lovers to take images of wonderful wildflowers this summer & enter them in our Botanical Photographer of the Year competition! There are 5 categories and (new for 2026) we are introducing a separate award for young photographers. Find out more: bsbi.org/take-part/ac...
A child, silhouetted against the late afternoon sun in Cambridgeshire, blows seed of Great Reedmace into the air. Image by Edward BurdenA single flower of Grass-of-Parnassus is seen in a black and white close-up shot. Image taken in Morayshire by Catriona MathesonA botanist wades into a loch in Aberdeenshire to survey aquatic plants such as water-lilies. He is holding an orange bathyscope to help him see plants underwater. Image taken by Ian Strachan.
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
David Attenborough’s 100th birthday 🎂 is being celebrated like a royal occasion in Melksham, Wiltshire.
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International Society for Seed Science @intlsocseedsci.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Remember Nina Bziuk’s recent paper in #SeedScienceResearch? @botany.one has published a post on this exciting research! Take a look to learn more about how accelerated ageing affects the seed microbiome 🦠🫘🔬 doi.org/10.1017/S096... #Botany #PlantScience #SciComm 🧪 www.botany.one/the-invisibl...
botany.one
The Invisible Cost of Seed Ageing
Researchers found that ageing Brassica napus seeds lose not only vigour, but also microbial diversity, raising new questions about how we store seeds for the future.
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Karen Andrews @botanykaren.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
Missed #wildflowerhour again, but here is my late contribution: Wood Sorrel.
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