iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Did you get my message on Messenger? I told you the location.

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Well done Cat. I am sure you put him straight. ❤️ Everything will be fine now. 🙄

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

First Waxcaps of the season in East Cornwall. Date Waxcap, Hygrocybe spadicea in good numbers, including some likely var. albifolia. No other CHEGD in evidence yet

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Nice work Cat, as ever. Do keep me posted when the waxcaps come back.

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Now considered to be Scilla rather than Chionodoxa

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

It is not Deadly Nightshade (Atropa belladonna), it is Black Nightshade (Solanum nigrum)

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

They are strongly hygroscopic, so it doesn't require rain, just humidity or dew. I would certainly consider spkendidissima as a possibility for these. Did you take a sample or smell them?

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 26/10/2025

Splendid Waxcaps, Hygrocybe splendidissima. For #WildFungiHour

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 25/10/2025

Plenty of Nitrous Waxcap, Neohygrocybe nitrata on Dartmoor yesterday.

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 25/10/2025

I rarely see Stropharia aeruginosa, Verdigris Roundhead on my local patch and when i do they are typically single and small. Today I found a troop of about 20 some of which had caps approaching 90mm.

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

Sadly nature conservation is not regarded as a priority for funding st present. Calling a site an NNR does not secure adequate funding to endsure ideal management. More often than not sites are grazed by stock owned whatever local farmers are available. NNR staff can only advise against chemicals.

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

Almost certainly due to the cattle being treated with Ivermectins as a preventative against worm infestation. No invertebrates are able to survive in their dung so they last until they are broken down by weathering. The majority of farmers use these treatments sadly

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

I'm guessing not in the UK? Lovely thing isn't it?

Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 11/05/2025

Reposted by Rob Large

If a government with over 400 seats and 4 years left to govern cannot summon the courage to level with the public on social care then I despair at the capacity of our political system to ever deliver the change we need.

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

Just another example of Defra's opinion that actual field ecologists who know stuff are too expensive when one GIS analyst can churn out pretty maps for a fraction of the cost.

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

I did some work piloting/ground-truthing some of the methodology for this project. I never had much faith in it to be honest. The remote-sensing/AI approach has some value at the broad scale and the headline figures may be more or less right, but it was never going to be useful tool at field scale.

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 11/05/2025

At present it seems to be getting harder to see any evidence of actual protection going on though. Labelling something as protected should only be the beginning of the process.

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 11/05/2025

It is surprisingly abundant on Portland, mainly as an occasional/frequent component of grassland, but when it encounters disturbed soil it can form a dense carpet.

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

Many dandelions are apomictic, producing seed without needing to be pollinated. Some have given up making pollen, and thus have no need of nectar to lure pollinators, so that too is dispensed with.

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

Maybe the flower too. Not all dandelions produce pollen. 🙄

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

Was that yhe only reason you had for visiting CI or Scilly then? Plenty of other great things to see there. 😉

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

I've no idea how Hyacinthoides italica found its way into a Devon churchyard. It has been here for at least five years. Usually about 10 -15 plants and I think some are new this year.

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

Something near Rorippa perhaps?

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

I managed to catch one flowering in Cornwall.

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

It's a clever bit of tv. Worth watching. No real surprises in it though. You know how it's going t end within the first half hour.

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

I guess forest involves the least effort and expense.

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

I think the key here is indeed the word poorer. Meaning lower nutrient status. Genista tinctoria is not a great competitor and is often lost when sites become enriched through neglect. Urban sites such as verges etc. are typically both enriched and neglected so probably not suitable for the species.

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

I didn't think I was criticising your art. I thought I was criticising my reaction to it. Forgive me, it's been one of those weeks.

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 23/02/2025

It's OK I look pretty odd myself and I've seen some pretty odd orchids. 😉 I don't think it detracts from the beauty of the piece, just causes my nerdy botanist gland to twitch 🙄

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 23/02/2025

Seems to have been popular in planting schemes in Exeter at some point.

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 22/02/2025

That is remarkable, well done, must have taken forever. As a botanist though, the leaves stacked up in two rows on either side just looks odd. I understand why you have done it that way, for display. Otherwise, utterly amazing and beautifully observed.

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

Haha, probably over my dead body. I could shed most of my books, but botany stuff is sacrosanct (for now at least) 😃

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

I went to the launch of the Devon flora. The first print run sold out at the event pretty much. It's a beast of a book. Don't remember when I last took it off the shelf though.

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

Pesky nature! Not doing things the way we like. 😉 I get why dew-ponds are desirable, but posts are always going to be hard to maintain on the chalk. Standing water doesn't want to be there.

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

Wadebridge to Berry Head must be near 2 hours as well. Worse if you hit the Torbay rush-hour (or in the tourist season).

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Braunton is a bit slower to get to, depending on where you are coming from, but so worth the effort once the days getaway bit longer. For me, I can be in Braunton in an hour, but Berry Head takes longer.

Well yes, that is what regulations are for. To prevent harm to habitats and species.

Don't forget Braunton Burrows. I could spend a week there. In fact I have. Several times. 😃 🌼

Thanks, that makes things a bit clearer than the OP. None of this is surprising though, given the pressure on environmental regulation across the board. The previous administration's antipathy to anything stemming from EU law was broadcast loud and clear. As for the current situation...🙄

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

Everything about this situation rankles. But the hollow quote from Defra at the end really grinds my gears. Planting trees does not remove the need to protect more SSSI.

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It's certainly a great site. At any time, but I had Ononis reclinata, Bupleurum baldense and Trinia glauca last year on the 5th June late may is good for trifoliums, but nothing you won't see in Cornwall. It's a big chunk of limestone, so lots of things you might not see down there.

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

Maybe. Impossible to say from this photo with any certainty.

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

Thanks Dave. I've been very lucky over the last few decades. Lucky, or stubborn, only taking jobs that allow me to do this stuff. 😉

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

Looks good for annua. The plants round here will look like that in a week or so.

Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

Your small blue flower looks like one of the Anemone species.

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

Cut down all trees within 30m and uproot any seedlings, for ever. 😉

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Rob Large @roblarge.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

Hard to be certain without seeing more of the plant, but the elongated inflorescence looks like Fodder Burnet, Poterium sanguisorba subsp. balearica a UK non-native taxon. If it is, then it won't be such a good garnish as it is rather more bitter than the native subsp. sanguisorba.