Sea-holly
The spiky, silvery leaves of Sea-holly give this plants its common name. Look for its beautiful, thistle-like, blue blooms on coastlines and sand dunes in summer.
The spiky, silvery leaves of Sea-holly give this plants its common name. Look for its beautiful, thistle-like, blue blooms on coastlines and sand dunes in summer.
Wild privet is a shrub of hedgerows, woodlands and scrub, but is also a popular garden-hedge plant. It has white flowers in summer and matt-black berries in winter that are very poisonous.
The stone loach is notoriously hard to spot - not only is it mostly nocturnal, it is also well camouflaged and can partially bury itself in the riverbed. It uses its whisker-like barbels to find…
As its name suggests, the zebra spider has the familiar black-and-white stripes of a zebra, making it very distinctive. It can be found stalking its prey on rocks, trees and walls, particularly in…
The wolf spider can be found in a wide range of habitats, including the garden. It hunts down its prey, leaping on it just like a wolf. Spiders are beneficial neighbours, helping to manage garden…
A scarce tree of central and southern England, in particular, the Small-leaved Lime can be found in ancient woodland. It is has sweet-smelling flowers in summer and nut-like fruits in autumn.
The Common green grasshopper can be found in damp meadows and woodland rides throughout summer. Males can be seen rubbing their legs against their wings to create a 'song' for the…
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 Mottled grasshopper can be found in dry grasslands, such as railway cuttings, and heathlands throughout summer. Males can be seen rubbing their legs against their wings to create a 'song…
Timothy is a grass of meadows, arable land, waste ground and roadside verges. It is also cultivated as fodder for livestock. Look for slender stems and long, cylindrical flower spikes in summer.…
The yellow wagtail can be spotted running about, chasing insects on lowland damp marshes and meadows during summer. As its name suggests, it does wag its tail!
A member of the buttercup family, Common water-crowfoot displays white, buttercup-like flowers with yellow centres. It can form mats in ponds, ditches and streams during spring and summer.