Common box grows in woodlands and scrub in southern England, with notable populations in the Chilterns, Cotswolds and North Downs. A familiar evergreen tree, it has shiny, dark green, oval leaves…

Mainly found in southern and eastern England, the common hornbeam is a tall tree of ancient woodlands. Its large catkins appear in spring, and its winged seeds are dispersed by the wind in autumn…

Due to the devastating effects of Dutch elm disease in the 20th century, the English elm is rarely found as large tree, but is more common as a shrub along hedgerows, or sometimes in woodlands.…

The guelder-rose is a small tree of hedgerows, woods, scrub and wetlands. It displays large, white flowers in summer and red berries in autumn, which feed all kinds of birds, including Bullfinches…

Spot these giants of the bumblebee world during springtime. They can be seen buzzing from flower to flower, getting their pollen fix.

An inconspicuous tree for much of the year, the field maple comes to life in autumn when its lobed leaves turn golden-yellow and its winged fruits disperse in the wind. Look for it in hedges and…

One of our commonest willows, the goat willow is a small tree that is found in ditches, reedbeds and wet woodland. It is well-known for its silver, fluffy catkins that give it another name, '…

One of our commonest willows, the grey willow is a small tree that is found in ditches, reedbeds and wet woodland. It is well-known for its silver, fluffy catkins that give it another name, '…

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.…

This beautiful butterfly is one of our rarest, now mostly restricted to the western parts of the UK.

This is a predominantly subtidal species but can be found on the lowest parts of a sheltered rocky shore in summer.