The stinging nettle is a familiar and common plant, often firmly rooted in our memories after our first, hands-on experience - a prickling irritation that's not forgotten easily!

The glow-worm is not actually a worm, but a beetle. Males look like typical beetles, but the nightly glow of a female is unmistakeable - lighting up to attract a mate in the darkness of their…

Nudibranchs, also known as sea slugs, are much like their land-based relatives that you may spot in your garden. But, unlike your regular garden slug, the nudibranch can incorporate the stinging…

Sand eels are a hugely important part of our marine ecosystem. In fact, the fledgling success of our breeding seabirds entirely depends on them.

White dead-nettle does not sting. It displays dense clusters of white flowers in whorls around its stem, and can be found on disturbed ground, such as roadside verges.

Red dead-nettle does not sting. It displays dense clusters of pinky-red flowers in whorls around its stem, and can be found on disturbed ground, such as roadside verges.

One of the UK’s rarest marine species, this giant of the rocky shore is a very special fish.

Traditionally a coastal species, Lesser sea-spurrey has spread inland, taking advantage of the winter-salting of our roads. Its pink-and-white flowers bloom in summer.

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

Common laburnum is an introduced species, planted in parks and gardens. It is most recognisable in flower - its hanging bunches of yellow blooms giving it the name 'Golden rain'. It is…

Lilac is an introduced species in the UK that can sometimes be found in hedgerows and along woodland edges. Flower spikes appear in spring, beautifully scented and packed with small, lilac-pink…