After almost 10 years of work, my first book has finally arrived, Flora of County Monaghan, published by Wordwell - with 310+ colour images and 7 intro chapters, there are over 1,200 species accounts included, all about the many plants that make or have made Monaghan their home

To be in one place for 1000 years. And just think of all the invertebrate life inside that rotting hollow trunk. An ecosystem in a single tree.

A lovely example of Illosporiopsis christiansenii, a #fungus that parasitises #lichen widespread, especially in Nitrogen rich areas, given all the intensive farming & quarrying local to me, it's no surprise to find it in my garden!

So cool to see my ‘Flora of County Monaghan’ book in the Irish Nature section of Hodges Figgis on Dawson Street in Dublin city centre, where I used to search for nature books as a teenager 😁

If you're interested in the fight to save the last of Ireland's old woodlands - the Wildlife Manual #153 is a fantastic document - although very depressing reading as we continue to lose our oldest woodlands and fail to protect them: npws.ie/sites/default/…

Every single human with blue eyes shares a single common ancestor who lived 6,000-10,000 years near the Black Sea and had a mutation in the OCA2 gene that reduced melanin in the iris. It was a complete fluke of history.

Ban on hedgecutting/upland burning starts tomorrow till Aug 31 to protect breeding birds. Disappointing & alarming to see that 30% of sanctions issued as a result of CAP conditionality inspections in 2023 were for breaches of GAEC 8/landscape features⬇️ birdwatchireland.ie/hedge-cutting-…

The Salvinia effect, seen in both plants and animals, describes the permanent air-capture of a textured surface when submerged underwater. It’s named after this floating fern, Salvinia. Applied to ship hulls, it reduces drag, meaning both lower fuel consumption, and less

I am thrilled to announce that our article, Dionysia persica (Primulaceae), a new species from Shiraz, Iran, has been published today in Phytotaxa phytotaxa.mapress.com/pt/article/vie… I dedicate this species to Marika Irvine, one of the best Dionysia growers, who passed away a few weeks ago.

Global Wetland Loss

What a wonderfully enjoyable read this was, and I might get a chance to see some of the ancient Donegal woodlands in June! Well done Sean O Gaoithin

Any and all are welcome at the upcoming launch evening for my recently published 'Flora of County Monaghan' book! Date: Friday 16th May, 7-9 pm Venue: Four Seasons Hotel, Monaghan Town Monaghan County Council Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage National Parks and Wildlife Service

Quite the evening for a bit of fieldwork in the Dublin Mountains

🌿 Biodiversity Week 2025 started off in Monaghan with the launch of Flora of Monaghan by Alexis FitzGerald — a decade-long study documenting 1,200+ native plant species. A milestone for local heritage and a celebration of nature! 🌱📖 #BiodiversityWeek #Monaghan

Oldest human fingerprint in the world just discovered in Spain, left by Neanderthals 43,000 years ago.

This is the most detailed model of a human cell ever created, using data from X-ray, NMR, and cryoelectron microscopy. ‘Cellular landscape cross-section through a eukaryotic cell.’ - Evan Ingersoll & Gael McGill.

Alexis FitzGerald The Wordwell Group Monaghan County Council National Parks and Wildlife Service Going to have to get this. Especially as it has #Taraxacum inclinorum on the front cover.

Howth 🇮🇪

This is the kind of good thats so good that people who dont know whats good think its bad