National Plant Monitoring Scheme

Unlocking Botanical Keys online session 17th June. Join to discover how botanical keys work, which ones to get started with, cover any tricky questions & boost your confidence. There will be a group exercise to collectively key out a specimen. More info ow.ly/47c650YXwZH

Species Spotlight - Dropwort Filipendula vulgaris is found in grassland on base-rich soils. The pink buds and creamy white flowers form triangular-shaped clusters. Leaves have interspersed large and small coarsely toothed leaflets, and smell of antiseptic. Photo: Bob Gibbons

🙌Hands up if you spotted Alan Sumnall from @plantlife.loveplants & @AdamHenson on BBC Countryfile yesterday talking about the NPMS & praising the efforts of the survey volunteers nationwide! There are 5 NPMS plots on Adam's Farm, surveyed by long term volunteer Chris Millet.

Reminder about our upcoming Plant anatomy & Wildflower Identification webinar 30th May. Join us for this easy to follow plant anatomy session. More info ow.ly/mBFf50YXwMS

In-field training 19th May NPMS Plant ID and Recording, Ballymena, Co Antrim. The morning will be spent identifying plants in the Ecos Park and identifying NPMS habitats. In the afternoon training will be provided on how to survey an NPMS square. More info tinyurl.com/5b8kpf94

Species spotlight - Garlic scented Ramsons or Wild Garlic Alium ursinum can be found forming a carpet of green in damp broadleaved woodland in spring. Broad flat leaves & the rounded heads of flowers distinguish it from similar smelling Three-cornered Garlic. Photo: Ava Marley

In-field training. 12th June Ranscombe Farm Reserve, Kent: Intro to NPMS & survey methods. Learn about NPMS recording & how to get started. We will walk cover practicalities of plot set up & recording while enjoying this important plant area. More info ow.ly/pCax50YXwHx

Look out for Bogbean Menyanthes trifoliata growing in mud or floating on edges of pools or flushes in low nutrient habitats. Three-lobed leaves & upright spikes of white flowers with distinctive fringed petals grow from creeping rhizomes. Photo: Sarah Shuttleworth

Plant anatomy & Wildflower Identification webinar 28th May. Want to get more familiar with wildflowers & how to identify some of them? This popular webinar, with trainer Sarah, will be a friendly & easy-to-follow plant anatomy session. Booking & info ow.ly/fkSF50YOogp

Crosswort Cruciata laevipes is found in ungrazed grassland, woodland edges, and scrub. Its name refers to the whorls of four leaves forming crosses. It is densely hairy and has clusters of small fragrant yellow flowers in the leaf axils. Photo: Roger Butterfield

Hottenetot Fig Carpobrotus edulis is a succulent mat-forming perennial native to South Africa. Frost sensitive, it is invasive in milder areas near the sea, in rocky places, cliffs and dunes. Leaves are triangular in cross-section. Photo: Karen Fisher

Quick reminder about our training workshop a week today! Plotting your NPMS Site. Ideal webinar for anyone new to the scheme, or in need of a refresher. Planning, plotting, mapping & recording your survey plots. Join us if you can. Info on events page ow.ly/74u650YOoZB

Species spotlight Great Willowherb Epilobium hirsutum has large pink flowers with cross-shaped stigmas, and softly hairy stems and leaves. Leaves are opposite, and clasp the stem. Often found in damp habitats. Photo: Sue McBean

Carnation Sedge Carex panicea has leaves that are a bluish-grey green colour on both sides with a few widely spaced veins underneath. The fruits are fewer and more rounded than in Common Sedge, with a beak that curves outwards. Photo: Chris Harris

Bugle Ajuga reptans can spread by long rooting runners to form large semi-evergreen patches of leaves. It has square stems with hairs on only two sides, and produces spikes of blue flowers with white markings. Photo: Plantlife

Look out for our native Bluebell Hyacinthoidies non-scripta forming carpets of blue in deciduous woodland this month. Flowers typically hang downwards and all to one side once opened, with tepals strongly curled back at their tips. Photo: Sue McBean

Training workshop 30th April Getting started & plotting your NPMS site. Focused on locating, accessing & recording survey plots. Will cover mapping, orienteering & accessibility in your survey square plus techniques to get surveys off the ground. ow.ly/YoiO50YEQ3K

Old Man's Clock, Tiddle-beds, Wet-the bed. Today is Dandelion Day. Can you tell the hour by how many blows it takes to blow away the seeds? The carpets of butter yellow flowers followed by delicate full moon 'clocks' is surely an invitation to make a wish! Photo: Sue McBean

Species spotlight - Butterbur Petasites hybridus is found in damp woodland and verges. Tall leafless spikes of tubular pinkish flowers open just before the rounded, unevenly toothed leaves appear. These are cobwebby underneath and can grow up to 1m wide. Photo: Sue McBean

Species Spotlight - Look out for Bulbous Buttercup Ranunculus bulbosus in dry unimproved grassland, flowering from March onwards. It’s easily told from Meadow and Creeping Buttercup by the sepals, which turn sharply down instead of spreading out. Photo: Andrew Gagg