One of the most eye-catching sights on the rocky shore, this mind-boggling species resembling a collection of beautiful pressed flowers is actually a colony of individual animals!

Their empty, delicate pink or yellow shells can often be found washed up on beaches, but the animals themselves live buried in the sand all around the coasts of the UK.

Flowering in spring, the cylindrical, densely packed flower spikes of Sweet vernal-grass are easily spotted in a meadow. It also tastes of sweet vanilla and was once a favourite 'chewing…

Sea potatoes may have a funny name, but they are perfectly adapted for life in the sand. They are a type of sea urchin that live in a burrow in the sand, feeding on dead animals and plants using…

As its name suggests, quaking-grass can be seen quivering or 'quaking' in a breezy, summer wildflower meadow. Its purple-and-green, heart-shaped flower heads hang from delicate stems.…

The bright yellow daffodils that adorn our roadsides and parks are likely to be garden varieties. Head to a woodland or damp meadow in North or South West England, or Wales, to see a true wild…

Ivy is one of our most familiar plants, seen climbing up trees, walls, and along the ground, almost anywhere. It is a great provider of food and shelter for all kinds of animals, from butterflies…

Found in compost heaps and under stones in gardens, the white-legged snake millipede is a common minibeast. Despite its name, it has about 100 legs. It is an important recycler of nutrients,…