Soft brome is a tall, annual grass of roadside verges, waste ground and meadows, and is a 'weed' of arable land. It has long, grey-green leaves and loosely clustered flower spikes.

Mainly found in southern and eastern England, the common hornbeam is a tall tree of ancient woodlands. Its large catkins appear in spring, and its winged seeds are dispersed by the wind in autumn…

A tall orchid of woodland and scrub, the broad-leaved helleborine has greenish, purple-tinged flowers that look a little 'drooping'. Strongly veined, oval leaves spiral around its stem…

The tawny grisette has an orange-brown cap and a tall, slender stem that arises from a conspicuous cup-like sack. It can be found in woodlands, particularly those with Birch, but also on heaths.…

Native oysters are a staple of our seas and our plates - but our love of their taste has lead to a sharp decline all around the UK.

The adder's-tongue fern is so-named because the tall stalk that bears its spores is thought to resemble a snake's tongue. An indicator of ancient meadows, it can be found mainly in…

A tall, broad tree of woodlands, roadsides and parks, the introduced horse chestnut is familiar to many of us the 'conker' producing tree - its shiny, brown seeds appearing in their…

The variable damselfly looks a lot like the azure damselfly, but is much less common throughout most of the UK.

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…

Red squirrels are native to the UK but are a lot rarer than their grey cousins. They live in a few special places across the UK thanks to reintroduction projects.