Peter Moonlight
@petermoonlight.bsky.social
#IAmABotanist
Herbarium Curator & Assistant Professor of Botany at TCD
Herbarium Curator & Assistant Professor of Botany at TCD
We are looking for a dedicated and passionate digitisation assistant to help us image the historic herbarium collections in Trinity College Dublin. If that sounds like you, please get in touch and apply!
my.corehr.com/pls/trrecrui...
my.corehr.com/pls/trrecrui...
January 23, 2026 at 7:34 PM
We are looking for a dedicated and passionate digitisation assistant to help us image the historic herbarium collections in Trinity College Dublin. If that sounds like you, please get in touch and apply!
my.corehr.com/pls/trrecrui...
my.corehr.com/pls/trrecrui...
A proper day out in the Cairngorms on this day 7 years ago.
January 11, 2026 at 9:26 AM
A proper day out in the Cairngorms on this day 7 years ago.
@siobhanleachman.bsky.social A challenge for you! Who was Miss Schultz? She was collecting in Norfolk Island, probably in the 1840-60s. This writing is in William Henry Harvey's hand in TCD. I think specimens by Miss Schultz are attributed to various male Schultz botanists in Kew.
December 11, 2025 at 9:52 PM
@siobhanleachman.bsky.social A challenge for you! Who was Miss Schultz? She was collecting in Norfolk Island, probably in the 1840-60s. This writing is in William Henry Harvey's hand in TCD. I think specimens by Miss Schultz are attributed to various male Schultz botanists in Kew.
Is anyone on BlueSky hot on their late 17th to early 18th century European playing cards? I turned this one up in Trinity College Dublin Herbarium today, with a herbarium collection of a similar age.
November 17, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Is anyone on BlueSky hot on their late 17th to early 18th century European playing cards? I turned this one up in Trinity College Dublin Herbarium today, with a herbarium collection of a similar age.
A new article on the recently uncovered specimens of 18th century botanist/spy for Louis the 16th of France, Joseph Dombey in Trinity College Dublin herbarium, out in #TrinityToday
October 8, 2025 at 7:00 AM
A new article on the recently uncovered specimens of 18th century botanist/spy for Louis the 16th of France, Joseph Dombey in Trinity College Dublin herbarium, out in #TrinityToday
Calling botanical researchers, the School of Natural Science at Trinity College Dublin is hiring a tenure track Assistant Professor in Plant Biodiversity and Conservation.
I know this is someone's dream job, so let me know if that is you and you want to chat!
my.corehr.com/pls/trrecrui...
I know this is someone's dream job, so let me know if that is you and you want to chat!
my.corehr.com/pls/trrecrui...
October 1, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Calling botanical researchers, the School of Natural Science at Trinity College Dublin is hiring a tenure track Assistant Professor in Plant Biodiversity and Conservation.
I know this is someone's dream job, so let me know if that is you and you want to chat!
my.corehr.com/pls/trrecrui...
I know this is someone's dream job, so let me know if that is you and you want to chat!
my.corehr.com/pls/trrecrui...
Curators and botanists, does anyone know what this could be?
It belonged to William Henry Harvey, botanist, collector, and former curator of TCD herbarium (1844-66). It is a 1.2m high, 25cm wide metal tube that once had a locking lid. Perhaps watertight.
It belonged to William Henry Harvey, botanist, collector, and former curator of TCD herbarium (1844-66). It is a 1.2m high, 25cm wide metal tube that once had a locking lid. Perhaps watertight.
October 1, 2025 at 6:48 AM
Curators and botanists, does anyone know what this could be?
It belonged to William Henry Harvey, botanist, collector, and former curator of TCD herbarium (1844-66). It is a 1.2m high, 25cm wide metal tube that once had a locking lid. Perhaps watertight.
It belonged to William Henry Harvey, botanist, collector, and former curator of TCD herbarium (1844-66). It is a 1.2m high, 25cm wide metal tube that once had a locking lid. Perhaps watertight.
Meanwhile, in the real world, we just missed out flight because of a 1 hr queue to check in a baby seat followed by a 2 hr security queue at Birmingham airport 🤬
July 27, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Meanwhile, in the real world, we just missed out flight because of a 1 hr queue to check in a baby seat followed by a 2 hr security queue at Birmingham airport 🤬
Do they count as #UrbanPlants if growing on the wall of a derelict seaside castle? #WildflowerHour
Who cares, especially when Limonium binervosa is so cool 😍
Who cares, especially when Limonium binervosa is so cool 😍
June 15, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Do they count as #UrbanPlants if growing on the wall of a derelict seaside castle? #WildflowerHour
Who cares, especially when Limonium binervosa is so cool 😍
Who cares, especially when Limonium binervosa is so cool 😍
That has got to be the best "herbarium ghost" I've seen.
June 12, 2025 at 9:53 AM
That has got to be the best "herbarium ghost" I've seen.
A seaside quartet from Brittas Bay, County Wicklow, for #WildflowerHour
The Sticky Stork's Bill was a new one for me 💚
The Sticky Stork's Bill was a new one for me 💚
June 8, 2025 at 7:18 PM
A seaside quartet from Brittas Bay, County Wicklow, for #WildflowerHour
The Sticky Stork's Bill was a new one for me 💚
The Sticky Stork's Bill was a new one for me 💚
Niche, but can anyone on Bluesky date a 1980s (?) Irish Lucozade bottle? This one turned up under a floor in a historic building, and we'd love to know when someone was last down there.
June 4, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Niche, but can anyone on Bluesky date a 1980s (?) Irish Lucozade bottle? This one turned up under a floor in a historic building, and we'd love to know when someone was last down there.
A #RandomActofCrochetKindness by Andrea, found somewhere on a train on the east coast today. Looks like a fly agaric (Muscaria amanita) to me, and is now happily in its natural mossy habitat.
June 3, 2025 at 7:20 PM
A #RandomActofCrochetKindness by Andrea, found somewhere on a train on the east coast today. Looks like a fly agaric (Muscaria amanita) to me, and is now happily in its natural mossy habitat.
I am delighted to have been involved in the description of Begonia chucantiensis in @phytokeys.pensoft.net. This was collected by Juan Carrión and colelagues, who contacted me to see if we could describe it together. doi.org/10.3897/phyt...
May 15, 2025 at 10:00 AM
I am delighted to have been involved in the description of Begonia chucantiensis in @phytokeys.pensoft.net. This was collected by Juan Carrión and colelagues, who contacted me to see if we could describe it together. doi.org/10.3897/phyt...
And to whoever stole the flowers from our Tulips, screw you. 😡
March 27, 2025 at 4:07 PM
And to whoever stole the flowers from our Tulips, screw you. 😡
Could the real Diastema racemiferum please stand up? This species is only found in semi-deciduous forests east of the Andes. In life they are pretty easy to tell apart (flower colour, glandular hairs, etc) they are pretty tricky once dried to a herbarium sheet.
March 27, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Could the real Diastema racemiferum please stand up? This species is only found in semi-deciduous forests east of the Andes. In life they are pretty easy to tell apart (flower colour, glandular hairs, etc) they are pretty tricky once dried to a herbarium sheet.
Introducing Diastema calcola J.L.Clark & Moonlight, just described in the Gesneriaceae. This species is found on limestone in S. Ecuador and N. Peru and Vulnerable under IUCN Criteria. Genetic and morphological work shows that while superficially similar to D. racemiferum, it is distantly related!
March 27, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Introducing Diastema calcola J.L.Clark & Moonlight, just described in the Gesneriaceae. This species is found on limestone in S. Ecuador and N. Peru and Vulnerable under IUCN Criteria. Genetic and morphological work shows that while superficially similar to D. racemiferum, it is distantly related!
It is tulip season in Dublin
March 26, 2025 at 4:33 PM
It is tulip season in Dublin
If you see this quote with flowers from your gallery.
We can all use some beauty right now.
Sonchus acaulis from the highest point of Gran Canaria
We can all use some beauty right now.
Sonchus acaulis from the highest point of Gran Canaria
January 27, 2025 at 7:55 AM
If you see this quote with flowers from your gallery.
We can all use some beauty right now.
Sonchus acaulis from the highest point of Gran Canaria
We can all use some beauty right now.
Sonchus acaulis from the highest point of Gran Canaria
We got stolons, rhizomes, tendrils, prickles, spines, scorpioid cymes, lots of types of real-world venation, all from shapes and lines in a powerpoint. Amazing creativity and attention to detail.
January 10, 2025 at 3:30 PM
We got stolons, rhizomes, tendrils, prickles, spines, scorpioid cymes, lots of types of real-world venation, all from shapes and lines in a powerpoint. Amazing creativity and attention to detail.
Some "species" from today's plant description workshop. Students had to design their own plant (from a selection of organs in a powerpoint) and paste them together to make a plausible plant, then come up with a botanical description for it!
January 10, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Some "species" from today's plant description workshop. Students had to design their own plant (from a selection of organs in a powerpoint) and paste them together to make a plausible plant, then come up with a botanical description for it!
#BegoniaOfTheWeek is cinnabarina. This is a tuberous species from montane forests in Bolivia and Argentina.
January 8, 2025 at 9:26 AM
#BegoniaOfTheWeek is cinnabarina. This is a tuberous species from montane forests in Bolivia and Argentina.
Very disppointed to receive this feedback from peer review with Diversity and Distributions. This is not a professional quality of peer review, and it should not have been forwarded by the editors 😡
Peer review should never be an opportunity to anonymously insult our colleagues! 🧪
Peer review should never be an opportunity to anonymously insult our colleagues! 🧪
January 7, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Very disppointed to receive this feedback from peer review with Diversity and Distributions. This is not a professional quality of peer review, and it should not have been forwarded by the editors 😡
Peer review should never be an opportunity to anonymously insult our colleagues! 🧪
Peer review should never be an opportunity to anonymously insult our colleagues! 🧪
There are 9 duplicates of 2 collections of this species, but 23 unique records on @gbif.org with four different sets of coordinates. Do we really want this many duplicate records based on the same specimens, often with subtly different data, on the main aggregator of biological data?
December 17, 2024 at 5:25 PM
There are 9 duplicates of 2 collections of this species, but 23 unique records on @gbif.org with four different sets of coordinates. Do we really want this many duplicate records based on the same specimens, often with subtly different data, on the main aggregator of biological data?
#BegoniaOfTheWeek is corazoniae, an endangered species described from the Philippines by Mark Naive this week and classified as Endangered uunder IUCN Criteria.
December 17, 2024 at 10:53 AM
#BegoniaOfTheWeek is corazoniae, an endangered species described from the Philippines by Mark Naive this week and classified as Endangered uunder IUCN Criteria.