Common starfish
A most familiar seashore inhabitant, the common starfish truly lives up to its name in UK seas and rockpools!
Water vole by Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
A most familiar seashore inhabitant, the common starfish truly lives up to its name in UK seas and rockpools!
Sometimes called 'Marsh samphire', wild common glasswort is often gathered and eaten. It grows on saltmarshes and beaches, sometimes forming big, green, fleshy carpets.
Common mallow is a handsome 'weed' of waste ground, roadside verges and gardens. Its deep pink, stripey flowers provide nectar for insects throughout the summer.
Learn about companion planting, friendly pest control, organic repellents and how wildlife and growing vegetables can go hand in hand.
A scrambling 'weed' of waste ground, fields and gardens, Common fumitory can be found on dry and disturbed soils. Its pink flowers appear over spring and summer.
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.
Look for the small, pink, pea-shaped flowers of Common restharrow on chalk and limestone grasslands, and in coastal areas, during summer.
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…
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.
The common harvestman is familiar to us as the large, spindly spider-like creature that frequents gardens and houses. It predates on smaller invertebrates which it catches using hooks on the ends…
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…
The dark-blue flowers of Common milkwort pepper our grasslands from May to September. It can also appear in pink and white forms.