Common box
Common box grows in woodlands and scrub in southern England, with notable populations in the Chilterns, Cotswolds and North Downs. A familiar evergreen tree, it has shiny, dark green, oval leaves…
Common box grows in woodlands and scrub in southern England, with notable populations in the Chilterns, Cotswolds and North Downs. A familiar evergreen tree, it has shiny, dark green, oval leaves…
Often seen carpeting the floor of ancient woodlands, Dog's mercury can quickly colonise, its fresh green leaves shading out rarer plants. It is also very poisonous.
The sweet chestnut is famous for its shiny brown fruits, or 'chestnuts', that are wrapped in a spiky, green casing and make a tasty winter treat. Look for this tree in woodlands in south…
The Sitka spruce was introduced into the UK from North America in the 19th century. It has been widely planted as a forestry tree; look for classic needle-like leaves and pale brown, domed cones…
Martin volunteers with Herefordshire Wildlife Trust’s Orchard Origins every Friday come rain or shine. His commitment has contributed to conserving many of Herefordshire’s traditional orchards.…
Be a wildlife saviour and do a litter pick or beach clean!
Introduced from Japan in the 19th century, Japanese knotweed is now an invasive non-native plant of many riverbanks, waste grounds and roadside verges, where it prevents native species from…
This reserve is a good example of a traditional wildflower meadow, a rare habitat in these days of intensively managed farmland where large quantities of both fertiliser and grazing animals are…
Forming mats of straight, bright green stems, Common spike-rush does, indeed, look like lots of tightly clustered 'spikes' near the water's edge of our wetland habitats.
These non-native limpets arrived from America in the 19th century and are now widespread in the UK. They form stacks and have a specially adapted shell which, when flipped upside down, looks like…
The broad centurion, or 'green soldier fly', is one of our most common soldier flies, and is often found in gardens. It has hairy eyes and a metallic blue or bronze body. It is an…
Great reedmace is familiar to many of us as the archetypal 'bulrush'. Look for its tall stems, sausage-like, brown flower heads and green, flat leaves at the water's edge in our…