Common gorse
Windy, open moors covered in bright yellow, spiky common gorse bushes and purple heathers are synonymous with what we call 'wild' landscapes, but it can be seen in many habitats, from…
Windy, open moors covered in bright yellow, spiky common gorse bushes and purple heathers are synonymous with what we call 'wild' landscapes, but it can be seen in many habitats, from…
The pink, frayed flowers of Ragged-robin are an increasingly rare sight as our wild wetland habitats disappear. You can help: grow native plants in your garden and enjoy the hum of visiting…
Living up to its name, the Robin's pincushion is a red, round, hairy growth that can be seen on wild roses. It is caused by the larvae of a tiny gall wasp that feeds on the host plant, but…
The Yew is a well-known tree of churchyards, but also grows wild on chalky soils. Yew trees can live for hundreds of years, turning into a maze of hollow wood and fallen trunks beneath dense…
This wildflower meadow has always been managed traditionally with grazing by cattle or ponies from spring to autumn. This kind of rough, damp grassland is known in Wales as Rhos pasture and is…
Found between water and land, reedbeds are transitional habitats. They can form extensive swamps in lowland floodplains or fringe streams, rivers, ditches, ponds and lakes with a thin feathery…
The bramble is the thorny shrub of hedges, woods and scrub that gives us delicious blackberries in autumn. Gathering wild food can be fun, but it's best to do it with an expert - come along…
Hairy bitter-cress is an edible weed of rocky places, walls, gardens and cultivated ground. Gathering wild food can be fun, but it's best to do it with an expert - come along to a Wildlife…
Our most familiar wild violet, the Common dog-violet can be spotted in a range of habitats from woodland to grassland, hedgerows to pastures. Its pansy-like, purple flowers appear from April to…
Wet woodlands in the UK can be wild, secretive places. Tangles of trailing creepers, tussocky sedges and lush tall-herbs conceal swampy pools and partially submerged fallen willow trunks, likely…
Look for the star-like, feathery, white flowers of Bogbean in ponds, fens, bogs and marshes. It is so-named because its leaves look like those of broad beans.
Despite its warts and ancient associations with witches, the common toad is a gardener's friend, sucking up slugs and snails. It is famous for migrating en masse to its breeding ponds.