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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Some recent fern sightings from around the local area Oreopteris limbosperma Hymenophyllum tunbrigense Dryopteris aemula Asplenium ceterach #botany #irishbotany #ferns

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

A lovely day exploring charophyte ID at Lough Money, Co. Down We refound all 5 species recorded from the site. It was a useful day to begin organising the groups of similar species together based on field morphology. We saw: Chara curta C. virgata C. hispida C. subspinosa C. vulgaris

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Zostera noltei, Z. marina and Salicornia sp. at Millbay Saltmarsh, Co. Down recently Peak saltmarsh time right now before the winter fowl arrive and eat it all…

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Bidens tripartita and Persicaria hydropiper from Loughbrickland, Co. Down - both last recorded in 1989 Such lovely wetland species

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

One of my favourite sea-side wildflowers, Rock Samphire (Crithmum maritimum) from Clogherhead, Co. Louth Lovely views of the Mourne and Cooley Mountains too #wildflowerhour

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

How amazing to find Mountain Everlasting (Antennaria dioica) on Sliabh Muc, Co. Down after a long hiatus of 146 years since Praeger last recorded it!! Other lovelies included parsley fern, beech fern, alpine club moss and dwarf willow. The Mournes deserves so much more conservation attention!!

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Plagiochila spinulosa, Saccogyna viticulosa, Dicranum majus and Frullania tamarisci - all staples of Irish temperate rainforest. Hymenophyllum wilsonii also present which is a new Hectad record! I was told about some nice graphidion lichens here but I didn’t see them. Did find Sticta sp.

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

I visited a tiny slither of woodland on a crag near Binevenagh, Co. Derry recently and despite its size it packed a big punch of temperate rainforest diversity. Loads of Colura calyptrifolia and Lejeunea patens. I also found another popn of Endoantria benetecta which is the first for the county

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Some lovelies from the shores of Spelga Dam in the rain Dryopteris carthusiana - a rare fern in the Mournes Typha latifolia - the first hectad record surprisingly Sparganium angustifolium exposed by lower water levels Plus epiphytic Peltigera sp. lichen on willow Also evidence of old tree stumps

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

I got to explore Árainn Mhór on the weekend for the first time. I only had a few hours to botanise but it was great to see so much Frullania teneriffae liverwort, mounds of crowberry and creeping willow. I was also shocked how much Himalayan balsam and knotweed there was there though!!

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Another species checked off the list (I don’t actually have a list) with Irish Lady’s-tresses (Spiranthes romanzoffiana) from Little Trosk, Co. Antrim. Lovely to see so much lesser clubmoss beside the orchid too. Plus the amazing moss Breutelia chrysocoma telling us that it rains here a lot…

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Gymnadenia conopsea s.l., Epipactis palustris, Neottia ovata, Schoenus nigricans, Pulicaria dysenterica and Brizia media All from an alkaline fen on the Cooley Peninsula, Co. Louth

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

How excited I was to find Oreopteris limbosperma/lemon-scented fern from a damp heathy grassland in Cor na Muclach, Co. Louth! This is the first record of this fern from this area since Praeger’s record in 1887! It really did smell like lemons… @bsbibotany.bsky.social @bsbiireland.bsky.social

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

A local ravine supports a wall of Plagiochila spinulosa, presumably a colony that is decades (if not longer) old, based on the thickness of the clumps. They of course fall off and I felt I had to place this huge piece back to another rock face! @bbsbryology.bsky.social

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Join me on the 18th August for an exciting day recording montane plants on Sliabh Muc in the Spelga Valley, Eastern Mournes, Co. Down You can expect Alpine Clubmoss, Parsley Fern and Stiff Sedge, and we will try our best to refind Stag’s-horn Clubmoss and Alpine Saw-wort!! bsbi.org/take-part/ev...

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

Then a stop on the way home to a lovely temperate rainforest in South Tyrone yielded Trichomanes specious gametophyte, Hymenophyllum tunbrigense, Peltigera collina and P. horizontalis (a new site record) Plus bryos Pseudomarsupidium decepiens and Lepidozia cupressina to top it all off!

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

A wonderful (but rainy) day spent on the lovely water meadows of Lower Loch Erne, Co. Fermanagh We came across local highlights such as Oenanthe fistulosa, Stellaria palustris, Ranunculus lingua and Carex diandra. Loads of Pedicularis palustris too

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Lythrum salicaria, Lycopus europaeus, Helosciadium inundatum and Peltigera praetextata from reedmarsh and wet woodland today, Mill Pond, Co. Down First time seeing lesser marshwort and great to see it since it is a declining species

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

New site for Climacium dendroides from Camloch, Co. Armagh (H37) growing on rocks along shoreline.

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Join myself on the 15th July for an intermediate training course on sand dune plants at the stunning Murlough NR, Co. Down, one of the country’s best sand dune systems!! We will cover the plant ecology of sand dunes but also look at the rarer plants on Murlough too! bsbi.org/take-part/ev...

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

And to tie it all together, the swallows were skimming the lake surface, herons were screeching, mallards dancing and damselflies flirting among the reeds. Of course a proper dip into the lake was needed at the end. What else would you be doing during mid-summer??!

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Heathland and woodland species also made themselves known such as Erica cinerea, Potentilla erecta and Luzula sylvatica - such a lovely blend of contrasting botanical assemblages

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Plants which thrive on the intersection between lake and land such as Valeriana officinalis, Alnus glutinosa and Ranunculus flammula were common sights and provided lovely colour to the evening

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Aquatic species included blooming Persicaria amphibia in large floating mats, plentiful Littorella uniflora growing in the shallow edges among rocks, and beds of Eleocharis spp. (spikerushes)

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Great to find a selection of ferns such as Osmunda regalis and Athyrium filix-femina along the rocky shore on the edge of the woodland and Equisetum fluviatile poking out of the water near some bulrush beds

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

This evening I paddled across to Camlough lake’s (Co. Armagh) western & southern shores which are pretty inaccessible. There is a lovely native woodland regenerating on the western side of the lake and of course I recorded plants growing along the shore & aquatic species growing in the shallows:

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

It’s still fairly bright at 10:30pm

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Happy Summer Solstice - the sun has just about set here in NE Ireland. A beautiful but solitary Greater Butterfly-orchid (Platanthera chlorantha) helped mark this bittersweet day. Common blue taking a rest in the long sun and lovely views of my beautiful home. Go mbeirimid beo ar an am seo aríst

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Orchid appreciation from the Aberystwyth area, Cymru - great to be back to this lovely part of the world!! - Lesser Buttterfly-orchid (Platanthera bifolia) - Northern Marsh-orchid (Dactylorhiza purpurella) - Marsh Helleborine (Epipactis palustris) - Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis)

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Few more: Cardamine impatiens Galium sterneri Rhamnus cathartica Melica nutans

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

A few days in the limestone Derbyshire did not disappoint botanically! All new to me Rock-rose (Helianthemum nummularium), Limestone Fern (Gymnocarpium robertianum), Melancholy Thistle (Cirsium heterophyllum) & Jacob’s-ladder (Polemonium caeruleum) @bsbibotany.bsky.social

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

A few nice finds around Dundalk, Co. Louth today: Bee orchid (Ophrys apifera) False Fox-sedge (Carex otrubae) Hairy Sedge (Carex hirta) Goat’s-beard (Tragopodon pretensions) I was too late in the day to see the goat’s-beard with an open flower! @bsbibotany.bsky.social @bsbiireland.bsky.social

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Seriously damp and humid day today in Rostrevor Oakwood, Co. Down Melica uniflora and Galium odoratum stood out today, but really the lush mosses and epiphytes were the stars of the show!!

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

Platanthera bifolia, Selaginella selaginoides and Pedicularis sylvatica subsp. hibernica and Pinguicula vulgaris from the Cooley Mountains, Co. Louth (H31) I suspect there are many lesser butterfly-orchids on upland wet heath and blanket bogs lurking out there!

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Always a pleasure botanising in Murlough, Co. Down. Site specials include Cynoglossum oficinale (Hound’s Tongue) and Erodium lebelii (Sticky Stork’s-bill). Plenty of marsh fritillaries on the wing along with other insects. Lovely place all together! @bsbibotany.bsky.social @bsbiireland.bsky.social

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

I’ve been enjoying mesotrophic wetland plant species recently. Great to see so much crowfoot in Newry Canal, along with Carex versicaria, Dryopteris carthusiana and Iris pseudocorus from some fen ditches in south Down #botany #fen #rivers #plants #ferns

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

Killard NR looking as stunning as ever. How nice to find Ophioglossum vulgatum and to check in on the green-winged Orchids (Anacamptis morio) County Down is rather special…

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

Sherardia arvensis (field madder) and Conium maculatum (poison hemlock) with plenty of stonechats today at Greencastle, Co. Down

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Early-purple orchid, bulbous buttercup, Ivy-leaved crowfoot and glaucous sedge along an ancient pathway in Moygannon, Rostrevor Co. Down (H38) All new tetrads! @bsbibotany.bsky.social @bsbiireland.bsky.social

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Killarney Fern (Vandenboschia speciosa) from a wooded glen in Co. Tyrone today. Gametophyte being locally frequent forming colonies up to 1m^2. Sporophytes also present in ~relatively~ open conditions. What a treat! @bsbibotany.bsky.social @bsbiireland.bsky.social

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

French animals: 1. Podacris muralis 2. Xylocopa violacea 3. Tettigonia viridissima 4. Anthophora plumipes

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

French Flowers (Paris/Lyon) 1. Luzula nivea 2. Salvia pratensis 3. Ornithogalum umbellatum 4. Sherardia arvensis

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

Ceratocapnos claviculata from Croslieve Mnt, South Armagh - the county’s only (known) population. Strangely such a rare plant in Ireland despite plenty of available habitat - one of those botanical mysteries again! @bsbibotany.bsky.social @bsbiireland.bsky.social

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Few lovely liverworts up on Dá Fhiacail Mhóra in southern Gullion, co. Armagh. The striking Ptilidium ciliare at its only SE Ulster site growing with Marsupella emarginata, Scapania compacta and Bartramia pomoformis as an unusual bryophyte mat community on acidic rock @bbsbryology.bsky.social

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Nice mixture of botanising in March. Exploring Rostrevor Oakwood for old toothwort records (no luck) but met some wych elms in the rocky/mossy woodland Peatlands Park, Co. Armagh is home (unfortunately) to the pitcher-plant (Sarracenia purpurea), although it is very cool and they were full of bugs!

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

Both Hymenophyllum species growing together on Sliabh gCuillinn summit, Co. Armagh (H37) in the scree. Associated with liverwort Plagiochila spinulosa, the 1st rec for the mountain. Nice to see some fir clubmosses too. #botany #ireland #filmyferns

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

Marchesinia mackaii from south Co. Down growing on the ancient tropical seabed geology - new site record and the 1st record for the county since the 1930s it seems! Neckera complanata in association and a new hectad for that too, more used to seeing it on trees @bbsbryology.bsky.social #bryology

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

Now found in 5 Irish counties as of yesterday from Cos. Louth/Armagh and this marks the first for the east coast! Phenologically has been recorded In July, September, October and March #fungifriends #ireland #bryology #liverwort

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Dean Mac Cú Uladh @dmac00.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

Asplenium ceterach recorded from an old mortared wall in north Co. Louth (H32) - last recorded in this vicinity in 1966!

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