Water-soldier
Water-soldier grows submerged in ponds and open water, and pops up over summer, looking like the top of a pineapple! This rare plant displays white flowers and shelters many aquatic insects.
Water vole by Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
Water-soldier grows submerged in ponds and open water, and pops up over summer, looking like the top of a pineapple! This rare plant displays white flowers and shelters many aquatic insects.
Due to the devastating effects of Dutch elm disease in the 20th century, wych elm is rarely found as a large tree, but is more common as a shrub along hedgerows and streams, and in upland areas.…
Allotments can be great places to see wildlife!
Kissing under the mistletoe is a much-loved Christmas tradition, making this plant familiar to us all. It actually grows as a parasite on trees - look for it hanging off branches in large balls…
The rain-soaked lands of Britain and Northern Ireland are rich in rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, canals and ditches. Whether natural or artificial, they are the life-force behind the wildlife we…
The mass of white, frothy blossom on a wild cherry is a sight to behold. Planted as an ornamental tree, it also grows wild in woods and hedges. Its red fruits are the edible cherries we know and…
An inconspicuous tree for much of the year, the wild service tree comes to life in spring, when it displays pretty, white blossom, and autumn, when its maple-like leaves turn bright crimson.
The large, golden flowers of marsh-marigold look like the cups of kings, hence its other name: 'kingcup'. It favours damp spots, like ponds, meadows, marshes, ditches and wet woodlands…
A sprawling plant, wild liquorice often has large, kinked stems. It favours woodland, scrub and grassland habitats on chalky soils - look for pea-like flowers and pods. This liquorice is not…
On their boards, Tom and Finn get to rub shoulders with mackerel, eels, crabs, bass, whiting and more. Very soon, they hope to add dolphins to that list too.
With yellow-and-black bands, the giant horntail looks like a large wasp, but is harmless to us. The female uses her long, stinger-like ovipositor to lay eggs in pine trees, where the larvae then…