Brush through a wildflower meadow at the height of summer and you'll hear the tiny seeds of yellow-rattle rattling in their brown pods, hence its name.

Broom is a large shrub of heaths, open woodlands and coastal habitats. Like gorse, it has bright yellow flowers, but it doesn't have any spines and smells of vanilla.

This slender and elegant shark species is often found close to shore all around our coasts and can grow up to 6 feet long.

The grayling is one of our largest brown butterflies and a master of disguise - its cryptic colouring helps to camouflage it against bare earth and stones in its coastal habitats and on inland…

A sprawling, spiny evergreen, common juniper is famous for its traditional role in gin-making. Once common on downland, moorland and coastal heathland, it is now much rarer due to habitat loss.…

Familiar as the bristly plant that easily hooks on to our clothing as we walk through the countryside or do the gardening, cleavers uses its hooks to help it climb and to disperse its seeds.

This seagrass species is a kind of flowering plant that lives beneath the sea, providing an important habitat for many rare and wonderful species.

A common dragonfly of canals, marshes, reedbeds and lakes, the brown hawker can be seen patrolling the water or 'hawking' through woodland rides. It is easily distinguished by its…

The muntjac deer was introduced into the UK from China in the 20th century. It has gained a stronghold in southeast England, where it can cause damage to our woods through browsing.

The distinctive spiky, or 'bearded', green flower heads of wall barley appear from June to July and are easy to spot in an urban environment as they push their way up through pavements…