By Sophie Mogg More commonly known as the cornelian cherry, Cornus mas is a medium-large deciduous tree of the dogwood family. Linnaeus referred to this species as both Cornus mas and Cornus mascula, translating…Read More >
Advent Botany 2016 – Day 20: Virgin birth and hidden treasures: unwrapping some Christmas figs
By Katherine Preston & Jeanne Osnas Figs reach their peak in summertime, growing fat enough to split their skins under the hot sun. It’s nearly impossible to keep up with…Read More >
Advent Botany 2016 – Day 19: Christmas Gourds
By Dawn Bazely Prince Albert, who moved to England from Germany, to marry the young Queen Victoria, led the Victorians in inventing much of today’s Christmas aesthetic that dominates Britain…Read More >
Advent Botany 2016 – Day 18: The Madonna Lily
By Robbie Blackhall-Miles Not realising the hope they give me, through their winter rosettes of green, the bulbs of the Madonna lily (Lilium candidum) sit snugly in the soil year…Read More >
Advent Botany 2016 – Day 17: Selaginella
By Hans Olav Nymand Denmark is a little land in Scandinavia, Northern Europe, but unlike the other Scandinavian countries, we have neither mountains (highest point 172m) nor vast boreal forests,…Read More >
Advent Botany 2016 – Day 16: Raphia: a string for all seasons
By Yvette Harvey RHS Garden Wisley, Woking, Surrey, GU23 6QB Forget the gorgeous Madagascan bags, the baskets, the hats, the dates, the coconuts, the wine, the patterned mats and shoes,…Read More >
Advent Botany 2016 – Day 15: Carob Santa Is On the Way!
by Megan Lynch At this time of year chocolate is imbibed as hot cocoa, eaten as a confection pressed into the shape of Santa or snowmen, and baked into a…Read More >
Advent Botany 2016 – Day 14 – Caraway
By Emma (the unconventional gardener) Cooper It’s possible to grow up in the UK and never consciously encounter caraway as a spice – I certainly did. And yet this versatile…Read More >
Advent Botany 2016 – Day 13: Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) – so good they blogged it twice!
Editor’s note: For the first time we have a plant so popular that two different institutions have offered a blog on it. They take a different approach so here you…Read More >
AdventBotany 2016 – Day 12: Erasmus Darwin born 12 December 1731 bringing botanical love and joy to the world!
By Dr M Advent botany couldn’t be advent botany without botanists – and amongst them are a number of significant “advent botanists”, those born in the days of advent and…Read More >