Botanical University Challenge

Events in Botanical University Challenge #BUC2026 now pause until August, when the 4 teams with top scores on Day 3 meet in person for quarterfinal and final! Recordings of Days 1 - 3 on our YouTube channel QR code.

Fossil plants. Fallen apart as preserved in rock but still with their intrinsic beauty. Find them on the beach, at the roadside, in museums. #BUC2026

Flavour of cinnamon is from chemicals within bark of Cinnamomum genus trees like cinnamaldehyde and eugenol. Plant family Lauraceae. Evergreen trees. Several species grown commercially. South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia and Oceania/Australasia. #BUC2026

Plants inspiring sculpture. Cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris), 2.3 metre high, along a riverside pathway. Similarly tall sculptures of dandelion, horsetail & common reed also along the path. #BUC2026

Plants as national symbols? 17 March, St Patrick's Day, patron saint Ireland. Shamrock (seamróg, young clover), but exactly which plant is 'shamrock'? Usually Trifolium dubium (lesser/yellow clover, Irish: seamair bhuí) or T. repens (white clover, Irish: seamair bhán). #BUC2026

Pictures are of family Orobanchaceae. All the family are partly or fully parasitic on other plants. The middle one, purple toothwort (Lathraea clandestina), is occasionally found in UK & Ireland, on tree roots eg willow, poplar, alder. Only flowers appear above ground. #BUC2026

Question from Botanical University Challenge's past, in 2023. Recognise any of these? One occasionally grows in the UK & Ireland. All in the same plant family. But which one? #BUC2026

The Birds of America - produced 1827 - 1838 John James Audubon with 435 life sized prints North American birds. Now $6 - 8 million per copy. Also, lots of plants included. See trumpet flower vine, probably Campsis radicans. #BUC2026

Although teams in Botanical University Challenge are from UK and Ireland, questions can feature plants from around the world. On Day 1 almost half of 32 teams recognised, or knew, the plant family of the leaves used as part of betel nut chewing. From betel, Piper betle. #BUC2026

#BUC2026 Interesting question - and answer. Bred by Colin Leakey. Read about him and his aims for these beans seedsovereignty.info/lunch-at-mr-be… Flatulence is not the only problem with beans, also long cooking times and poor bioavailability of iron. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC62…

Plants as symbols of powerful families. This gold brooch found 1971 in in roadworks, Victoria Street, Manchester, UK. Made 1280 – 1320. Pods between garnets & sapphires likely Genista sagittalis, winged broom, badge of King Henry II’s father Geoffrey of Anjou. #BUC2026

#InternationalWomensDay2026 See some of the women involved with making Botanical University Challenge happen, scientists included in the questions, asking questions to the team competitors. #BUC2026

Why does song '12 Days of Christmas' lack plants? Christmas tree, holly, cranberries, sprouts, oranges, mistletoe, ivy, carrots, chestnuts, potatoes, poinsettia, sloes, onions, Christmas rose, thyme. Christmas would be so different without them! #BUC2026

Question in Botanical University Challenge #BUC2026 about name of a sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus) variety. Which member of the BUC organisational team had the same name? John Warren - but named after a different John Warren! Does a garden plant have same name as you?

Helen Porter FRS, researched carbohydrate metabolism in plants 1920s - 1960s & developed use of chromatography & radioactive tracers for this. First woman Professor at Imperial College, University of London (1959). Question in Botanical University Challenge #2026 .

Botanical University Challenge #BUC2026 asks teams about genetics that underlie plant shapes. In Day 3, almost half teams knew that gene WUSCHEL has a key role in shoot meristem organisation. In absence this transcription factor, plant looks very different.

Plants as national symbols? 1st March, St David's Day, patron saint of Wales. Plants leeks and daffodils symbols of the country. Both monocots in order Asparagales, family Amaryllidaceae. One a tasty vegetable, the other poisonous to humans! #BUC2026

Mega exciting contest yesterday in Botanical University Challenge #BUC2026, finding the 4 semifinalists - teams from Aberdeen, Cambridge, Edinburgh & Anglia Ruskin Universities. Competition for best team names by public vote still open. Use QR code to go and vote.

Finally! 50 questions, technical hitch, 2 tiebreaker rounds - and the semifinalists #BUC2026 are teams from Aberdeen, Cambridge, Edinburgh and Anglia Ruskin universities! Four other teams snapping at their heels - Bangor, York, UCL and RBG Edinburgh. See you in August!!

Watch Day 3 - quarterfinal of Botanical University Challenge #BUC2026 streaming now YouTube. youtube.com/watch?v=xe6mzU…