Small teasel
A prickly, tall plant, the Small teasel is closely related to the Common teasel, but has much smaller, more rounded flower heads. It prefers damp, open woodlands.
A prickly, tall plant, the Small teasel is closely related to the Common teasel, but has much smaller, more rounded flower heads. It prefers damp, open woodlands.
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.
The birch polypore only grows on Birch trees. This leathery bracket fungus has a rounded, coffee-coloured cap that was once used for sharpening tools, hence its other name: the 'Razorstrop…
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.
The drooping, tubular, pink flowers of Common comfrey are a familiar sight to many gardeners. Sometimes considered a 'weed', this hairy plant can be used as an organic fertiliser and a…
Ever noticed lots of little white spirals on seaweed fronds on rocky shores? These are tiny tube worms!
The fearsome-looking hornet may not be a well-loved insect, but it is actually much less aggressive than the common wasp. It is also an important pollinator and a predator of species that feed on…
The skeletons of deep-water corals form mounds that can support over 1,000 species of invertebrates and fish.
A rare habitat remarkable for its colourful diversity of wildflowers and abundant birdlife, machair grassland is a feast for the ears and eyes.
A scarce but distinctive brown seaweed with curved, funnel-shaped fronds. It is a warmer water species at the northern edge of its range on the south coast of England.
Considered a gardener’s best friend, hedgehogs will happily hoover up insects roaming in vegetable beds. Famously covered in spines, hedgehogs like to eat all sorts of bugs and crunchy beetles.…
The tops of Oarweed fronds can be spotted floating on low tides. Kelp beds are an important habitat, providing shelter for many other marine creatures.