Kidney vetch
The small, yellow flowers and woolly appearance of kidney vetch make this plant easy to spot. Look for it growing low to the ground on sand dunes, chalk grasslands and cliffs in summer.
The small, yellow flowers and woolly appearance of kidney vetch make this plant easy to spot. Look for it growing low to the ground on sand dunes, chalk grasslands and cliffs in summer.
The razorbill has a characteristically thick, black bill, with a white stripe across it. It nests with other seabirds, such as guillemots, but prefers the lower ledges and rocky bottoms of cliffs…
An introduced plant, vervain is widely naturalised in the UK. It is a great source of nectar for all kinds of insects and can be seen on rough grassland, waste ground, coastal cliffs and roadside…
One of the most colourful fish in UK seas, the cuckoo wrasse looks like it belongs in the tropics. Don't be fooled though, it's very much a native species.
A scarce tree of England and Wales, the Large-leaved lime is the rarest of our native limes. It is tall and broad, and can be found in forests and parks, where it is frequently planted.
Sand sedge is an important feature of our coastal sand dunes, helping to stabilise the dunes, which allows them to grow up and become colonised by other species.
The song of the skylark has been the subject of many great musical and literary works. A quintessential feature of our farmland and grasslands habitats, it is declining rapidly with habitat loss…
Dark and brooding from a distance, the strong geometric lines and monotonous rows of uniformly sized trees can jar the eye and seem devoid of wildlife. But venture within and open ride edges,…
Once considered a weed of cornfields, the Scarlet pimpernel is now in decline due to intensive agricultural practices. It can be found in arable fields, on roadside verges and waste ground, and on…
As its name suggests, Himalayan balsam is from the Himalayas and was introduced here in 1839. It now an invasive weed of riverbanks and ditches, where it prevents native species from growing.
Red valerian was introduced in the 1600s from Europe, but is now naturalised in the UK. Its pinky-red flowers grow from old walls, roadside verges, railway cuttings and cliffs, and provide nectar…