An uncommon tree of wet woodlands, riverbanks and heathlands, alder buckthorn displays pale green flowers in spring, and red berries that turn purple in autumn.

This large anemone is found on rocky shores around the UK and is so called because its green spots and red body means it looks like a strawberry!

A familiar shrub of hedgerows and woodland edges, blackthorn comes alive in spring when it bursts into a froth of white blossom. It is well known for its sloes, too - the blue-black fruits used in…

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…

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…

Look for the wood warbler singing from the canopy of oak woodlands in the north and west of the UK. Green above, it has a distinctive, bright yellow throat and eyestripe.

Sometimes called 'Marsh samphire', wild common glasswort is often gathered and eaten. It grows on saltmarshes and beaches, sometimes forming big, green, fleshy carpets.

The all-black rook is a sociable bird, so can be spotted in flocks or nesting colonies, known as 'rookeries'. Unlike the similar carrion crow, it has a grey bill and 'baggy trouser…