A passion for plants

A talk by Mark Duffell

An exploration of the many botanical discoveries Darwin and his contemporaries made. Find out about the weird and wonderful world of plants whilst journeying through the tropics, arid deserts and mountainous regions.

The Talk was created for the Shrewsbury Darwin Festival held in February 2015 where it was very well received and inspired a lot of discussion afterwards. The talk looks at all of the botanical work that Darwin did with plants (rather than the usual focusing on his study of evolution). The talk relates his work to other botanists of his time and to current research and principles.

It includes many fascinating plant stories, from such bizarre subjects as how does a Bat uses a Pitcher Plant, why are there two types of flowers in Primroses, and what is Batology.

Mark is a passionate and skilled Botanist and Horticulturist and always keen to promote botany as a profession and vocation. His earlier career as a Horticulturist was topped by becoming the Institute of Horticulture  Young Horticulturist of the Year 2001.

His excellent field skills have been recognised by the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) as one of their ‘Gold Standard’ recorders for their Field Identification Skills Certificates (FISC). He now enjoys passing on these skills to a variety of audiences through teaching for universities, charities, voluntary organisations and private individuals both in the outdoors and in the classroom. Mark’s combination of botanical and horticultural backgrounds has created a comprehensive working knowledge of the world’s flora and major plant families.

When not out in the field (professionally or voluntarily) he enjoys photography and traveling off the beaten track, usually associated with hunting out a particular habitat or environment rich in flora and fauna, whether in the UK or overseas”.

For more information about Mark, Click here