Dahlia anemone
With their beautiful striped tentacles, it's easy to see where dahlia anemones got their floral name from. Look out for them next time you're rockpooling!
With their beautiful striped tentacles, it's easy to see where dahlia anemones got their floral name from. Look out for them next time you're rockpooling!
As its name suggests, the Dwarf thistle is a low-growing plant that is almost stemless - its purple, thistle-like flower heads growing out of a rosette of spiny leaves.
It's easy to see where this stunning bivalve got its name from - the bright orange tentacles emerging from the shell really do look like flames!
As its name suggests, the Marsh violet likes damp spots, such as marshes, bogs and wet woods. It is a low-growing plant with kidney-shaped leaves and pale lilac flowers.
With a silvery body, and purple, pink and bluish streaks down its flanks, the rainbow trout lives up to its name. Popular with anglers, it is actually an introduced species in the UK.
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.
Living up to its name, the hairy violet is covered in fine hairs. Look for its delicate, violet flowers blooming from March to June on chalk grasslands, in particular.
As its name suggests, the ruby elfcup is a bright red, cup-shaped fungus. It is widespread, but scarce, and can be found on fallen twigs and branches, particularly in areas with higher rainfall.…
Living up to its name, the shoveler has a large and distinctive shovel-like bill which it uses to feed at the surface of the water. It breeds in small numbers in the UK, but is widespread in…
Wavy hair-grass lives up to its name: its fine, hair-like leaves and delicate flower heads can be seen shaking in the breeze of a windswept moorland or heathland.
Despite its name, Common knotgrass is not a grass, but is actually related to the docks. It has wiry stems that grow along the ground, and is a weed of waste ground, gardens and arable fields.
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…