Blog Entries from Plants of Skye, Raasay & The Small Isles
Everlasting-Pea (
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In 1979, John Palmer, a highly competent botanist, visited Skye and Raasay and made a number of interesting records. He sent me his Raasay records in 1992 and about a year after his death in 2019, I…
A Creeping Buttercup plant in the garden is infected with something; I think it may be Leptotrochila ranunculi, but there is no sign of the diagnostic apothecia (yet). This small fly was also in the…
Guillamon Island (
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Guillamon Island, to the south of Scalpay, had a single vascular plant record – Hieracium uistense (Uist Hawkweed) from 1960. The island is only small, but it is probably the largest island around…
Insects at Home (
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At the third attempt I trapped some moths this May. After two zero counts, a couple of days ago I had 34 moths of 17 species. There were no new species for May, but it was only the second time I have…
Glasphein (
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Caroline and I went to see if we could identify the large sedge she had spotted a couple of weeks ago. We could only find Carex rostrata (Bottle Sedge) and have to assume that what she found was an…
Daniel’s project on Raasay and Skye reaches its climax this weekend in Raasay Hall. Using local resources such as Raasay iron, St John’s-wort and ammonites as inspiration there is a tremendous…
Field Maple (
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Field Maple (Acer campestre) is not native here, but there are three mature trees at the top of my drive on our neighbour’s land. I can vouch for their presence for over 40 years but they may be…
Portree (
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Seth has found Crassula tillaea (Mossy Stonecrop) in Portree Cemetery. This is new to VC104 and seems very likely to have been introduced during the building of the cemetery extension in 2025. I have…
Eupteryx aurata (Potato Leafhopper) was swept from a mixture of Stachys sylvatica (Hedge Woundwort) and Scrophularia nodosa (Common Figwort) near Oskaig. I had this at home a few years ago. Dascillus…
In the Garden (
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An afternoon of gently weeding and pruning led to a couple of useful records. An unusual-looking fly with wings much longer than its body was resting on our Deutzia bush. Obsidentify was 100% certain…
