Plant names often have an interesting history behind them: I came across Alchemilla while looking up a plant I photographed at the weekend. Thinking about the names often helps with remembering them, and also gives insight into the history of the species. Earlier in the year, we discussed the naming of a species after Professor [...]

What do peacocks, CDs and certain plants have in common? They all have multi-coloured parts – feathers, surfaces or petals – which change their hue depending on the angle you look at them. This physical phenomenon in which an ordered repeating surface structure rather than a pigment gives an object its colour is called iridescence. [...]