Botany: Telling species apart Archives - Page 2 of 2

What’s the difference between Virginia creeper and False Virginia creeper?

Posted on 18th April 2019 in Botany: Telling species apart

Virginia creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia and False Virginia creeper Parthenocissus inserta are common and decorative. They are favourites with gardeners, who train them to grow up walls of houses and pubs where they give cover and autumn colour. They’re vigorous climbers, deciduous, perennial, and develop woody stems. They are also classed as an invasive plant species […] Read more

Telling Gunnera species apart

Posted on 8th March 20198th March 2019 in Botany: Telling species apart

Gunnera is an extraordinary looking plant. With its gigantic leaves, and ability to form enormous clumps that dwarf us, it’s easy to identify. But can you tell your Gunnera manicata from your Gunnera tinctoria? If not, here’s a quick guide. I learned this recently, whilst working on new illustrations for the Field Studies Council who’ll […] Read more

Telling Cotoneasters apart

Posted on 22nd February 2019 in Botany: Telling species apart

My recent botanical illustration work for a Field Studies Chart (as yet unpublished) on Invasive species included 5 species of Cotoneaster. Telling these plants apart can be a real headache, but I’m going to give it a go, and share my thoughts. I’m more than happy to be corrected in the comments section below! Cotoneasters are really […] Read more

Telling Bluebell species apart

Posted on 15th May 201819th April 2022 in botanical terms, Botany: Telling species apart, Scientific Illustrator out and about

May is Bluebell time! May is a really wonderful month for botanical illustration; all the spring flowers are in bloom and there’s almost too many subjects to illustrate! I always like to visit our local bluebell woods at this time of year, and thought it might be an idea to write a blog on how […] Read more

Botanical Illustration: Buttercup Species

Posted on 22nd February 201620th February 2019 in Botany: Telling species apart, Showcase of themed natural history illustrations

Looking through my botanical illustrations recently, I realised I’d completed quite a few watercolors of flowers in the Buttercup genus (family Ranunculaceae). Like the botany ingénue I am, I assumed I’d covered most of the British buttercups, and decided to write this blog. Little did I know, I wasn’t even half-way through them! Ranunculus family […] Read more

Lizzie Harper