Lords-and-ladies
Look for the unusual flowers of lords-and-ladies in spring woodlands: a pale green sheath surrounds a spike of tiny, yellow flowers. This spike eventually forms a familiar, short stalk of striking…
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Chwilio
Parsley fern
Parsley fern lives up to its name - the pale green fronds form in clusters among rocks and look just like parsley. Look out for it in upland areas, particularly in Wales and Cumbria.
Saltmarsh and mudflats
Saltwater marshes and mudflats form as saltwater floods swiftly and silently up winding creeks to cover the marsh before retreating again. This process reveals glistening mud teeming with the…
Common duckweed
The vast, green mats that sometimes cover the surface of still water, such as ponds, flooded gravel pits and old canals, are actually Common duckweed. A tiny, single plant, it groups together to…
Spurge laurel
Despite its name, Spurge laurel is not a laurel - it just looks like one! It has glossy, dark green leaves and black, poisonous berries, and can be found in woodlands in southern England, in…
From Restoration to Ruin: A Close Call on Overton Cliff
The fire is believed to have been started by the careless disposal of a barbecue. Approximately one acre of coastal heath and limestone grassland vegetation was destroyed in the blaze. The full…
Pyramidal orchid
The pyramidal orchid lives up to its name - look for a bright pinky-purple, densely packed pyramid of flowers atop a green stem. It likes chalk grassland, sand dunes, roadside verges and quarries…
Coed Dyrysiog Nature Reserve
A beautiful area of ancient woodland and unusually a registered common that slopes down to the banks of the Nant Bran. This is a lovely place to come for a peaceful woodland walk with just the…
How to create a hedgehog hole
Help hedgehogs get around by making holes and access points in fences and barriers to link up the gardens in your neighbourhood.
Shelduck
One of our largest ducks, the shelduck is a handsome creature with a dark green head, red bill and chestnut-brown band across its white body. Look out for it around most of our coastline,…
Planaria
Planaria are flatworms in the phylum Platyhelminthes with amazing regeneration abilities giving them the title 'immortal under the edge of a knife'. There are many different species that…
Early purple orchid
The Early purple orchid is one of the first orchids to pop up in spring. Look for its pinkish-purple flowers from April, when bluebells still carpet our woodland floors. Its leaves are dark green…