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Saturday, June 06, 2009

Botany

For some time now my interest in plants through gardening, visiting gardens and my involvement in the wildlife of Somerset has made me realise my knowledge of botany is very basic and limited. To get more out of visits to nature reserves and even walks in country lanes I need to spend time learning in a structured way rather than just looking up in wild flower books to try to identify flowers I have seen.
Now I have a great opportunity to do just that.
Last night we held the first informal meeting of what we will probably call the Langport Botany Group. Starting in September we plan a series of monthly study group session to start the task of understanding the physical structure of plants with the emphasis on wild flowers found in this area. An ability to identify the many species which we are fortunate to find all around us is one of our aims.
The group will need to be limited to around a dozen to be manageable for practical work on plant specimens and for field work. If the initiative prospers no doubt it will continue on future years. That is certainly our hope so that more people can benefit.
I hope to give the group coverage through this blog and else where and include photographs showing our activities.

If you are interested in the subject of botany and what it covers, especially in the context of wild flowers you might find the Natural History Museum a good reference point
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