Scottish Botanists’ Conference

There will be a wide range of talks, including on conservation initiatives for threatened species such as Small Cow-wheat and One-flowered Wintergreen, a year in the life of a mountain botanist, a look at invasive species in Scotland including Rhododendron and Giant Hogweed, flash talks from student researchers, and annual updates from the BSBI and Botanical Society of Scotland.

The ever-popular mini-workshops will be running, with topics including Eyebright identification, ferns for beginners, an introduction to Bramble identification, an introduction to Sphagnum bog-mosses, getting the most out of your smartphone for plant photography, how to use the new BSBI recording app, and an introduction to using the BSBI’s plant distribution database.

There will also be an Exhibition Hall, where conference participants are encouraged to display exhibits – please email Liz Kungu to book a poster or table space for you or your organisation. Examples of previous displays include interesting botanical finds in your area, research project posters and case studies, or summaries of an organisation’s work in Scotland. We'd love to see what you've been up to!

There will also be a post-conference dinner held at the nearby Loon Fung Cantonese Restaurant – a great opportunity to get together and catch up with old friends or make new connections. You can register for this via the conference booking link.

I look forward to seeing you at the Conference!

*NEW* The Scottish Botanists' Conference will include the BSBI’s Scottish Annual General Meeting (AGM), during which elections for membership of the Committee for Scotland will be held. If any of our Scottish members would be interested in joining the Committee, we would love to hear from you! Please contact the Secretary Polly Spencer-Vellacott or Chair David Elston to discuss what's involved.

As well as approving the minutes of last year's AGM, this year's AGM will be asked to approve a new constitution for the Committee for Scotland to bring us in line with other BSBI country committees. Minutes, existing and proposed new constitutions are available below:

• BSBI Scottish AGM 2023 minutes
• BSBI Existing Constitution for the Committee for Scotland
• BSBI Proposed New Constitution for the Committee for Scotland

The 2023 Scottish Botanists’ Conference was held at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh on Saturday 4th November and welcomed everyone interested in Scottish botany, from beginners to experts and professionals.

Following the landmark publication of Plant Atlas 2020 this year, we were delighted to welcome Professor Matt Williams, Chief Scientific Adviser for Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture to Scottish Government to open the conference.

A diverse programme included talks on Plant Atlas 2020 and its impact, rare plant translocations for conservation, the recently updated Caledonian Pinewood Inventory, why plant taxonomy keeps changing, a year in the life of a conservation botanist, and project updates from BSBI, BSS and Plantlife Scotland. All sessions are now available to view on the BSBI YouTube channel.

View the programme and on-the-day information here. Abstracts for the conference exhibition can be viewed here, and you can view many of the exhibits that were on display at SBC 2023 here.

A great range of hands-on identification and training workshops were also on offer, including workshops on the tricky taxonomic groups of willow-herbs and montane willows, introductions to horsetail and dock identification, a workshop on bryophytes for beginners, a introduction to making herbarium specimens and how to use herbaria online, and how to get the most out of the online Plant Atlas 2020 website. Resources from some of the training workshops are available here.

If you have any queries please contact Matt Harding, BSBI Scotland Officer. Find out more about botany in Scotland here.

150 people enjoyed this year’s Scottish Botanists’ Conference, at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh on Saturday 5 November. The two main talks by Clifton Bain and Shaila Rao were very popular. There was also a great variety of other short talks, workshops, exhibits and posters, the Scottish AGM, the Photographic Competition and, of course, Summerfield Books!

The event was face-to-face but we recorded the talks and here they are:

Rainforests and Peatlands: Travels around Scotland's most threatened habitats - Clifton Bain, Advisor to the IUCN UK Peatland Programme
What can you do with a completely sequenced flora? - Alex Twyford, University of Edinburgh
Vascular Epiphytes in Easter Ross - Brian Ballinger, BSBI & BSS
Update from Botanical Society of Scotland - Jill Thompson, BSS President
The Scottish Officer year - Jim McIntosh, BSBI Scottish Officer
Plantlife Scotland update and plans - Alistair Whyte, Head of Plantlife Scotland
From The Bird's Mouth / Bho Bheul an Eòin - Derek Roberston
Plant Conservation at Mar Lodge National Nature Reserve - Shaila Rao, Conservation Manager, NTS Mar Lodge
Presentation to mark Jim McIntosh's retirement - by Lynne Farrell, BSBI President

There were also tours of the RBGE Herbarium & Library and six mini-workshops:

• An introduction to ferns for beginners by Heather McHaffie
• An introduction to grasses for beginners by Jay Mackinnon
• Cypresses by Matt Parratt - here are the notes and photographs from Matt's mini-workshop and here is his helpful Lateral key to cypresses.
• Sitka spruce and other invasive conifers: what next? discussion led by Lindsay Mackinlay
• Spike-rushes by Jeremy Roberts
• Spikey-rosette aquatics by Nick Stewart

We had over 28 posters and exhibits and here are the Exhibition Abstracts.