Fen Bedstraw

Flower: Fen Bedstraw bears small, white, four-petalled flowers arranged in loose, open clusters. Flowering from June to September, each flower is typically 2–3 mm across and shaped like a cross, similar to Marsh Bedstraw (Galium palustre), but often with a slightly creamier or duller white tone. The flowers... Fruit: Its fruits are a pair of small, smooth nutlets—distinctively hairless, which helps distinguish it from the rough, bristly fruits of G. palustre. The nutlets are not sticky or hooked, so they are less likely to cling to animals. They are dispersed mainly by water movement in the fen and wet meadow en... Leaves: Leaves are narrow, pointed, and arranged in whorls of six to eight along the stems. They are dark green with tiny hairs along the edges and midrib, helping separate it from similar species. The stems are square in cross-section and weak, often sprawling among surrounding vegetation. Unlike the sligh...

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Common Bent

Flower: Common Bent is a fine-textured grass that produces delicate, open flower panicles from June to September. The flowering heads are airy and branched, with purplish to greenish spikelets that shimmer in the breeze. Each tiny floret contains a single stamen and ovary, and although individually inconspi... Fruit: The fruit of Agrostis capillaris is a small, dry grain known as a caryopsis, like other grasses. These tiny seeds are enclosed in glumes and lemmas and ripen in late summer. While they are not showy, they are important as a food source for small birds and insects, and the grass reproduces both by se... Leaves: The leaves are fine, narrow, and rolled inward, typically less than 3 mm wide. They are smooth, bright green, and grow alternately along slender stems. The ligule (where the leaf joins the stem) is short and blunt—a useful feature in identifying this species. Common Bent forms a dense, low-growing t...

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Creeping Buttercup

Flower: 5 glossy yellow petals on furrowed stalks, up to 3cm wide and with spreading sepals. Fruit: A cluster of achenes, no larger than half a centimetre across. Leaves: Dark green and triangular-shaped with 3 deeply cut lobes, the end lobe being long-stalked.

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Hairy Buttercup

Flower: Shiny, pale yellow flowers, paler than the very similar Bulbous Buttercup (Ranunculus bulbosus). Just like Bulbous Buttercup, the green sepals of Hairy Buttercup are bent backwards and press against the flower stalk. Fruit: A short-beaked nutlet. The beak curves upwards. Leaves: An annual flower with palmate leaves. Similar to Bulbous Buttercup but hairier. Both the stems and leaves are very hairy. Bulbous Buttercup has a bulbous stem base at ground level. Hairy Buttercup does not have. The leaves are paler than those of Bulbous Buttercup. Alternate leaves.

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Common Cat's-ear

Flower: Yellow dandelion-like solitary flowers, up to 4cm. Underside has green-greyish florets. Leafless, unbranched flower stalk contains scale-like bracts at the top. Flowers similar-looking to Autum Hawkbit except they are slightly larger and Autumn Hawkbit does not have the scale-like bracts at the top ...

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Lesser Celandine

Flower: 7-12 glossy yellow petals up to 3cm wide, sometimes fading to white. Flowers only opening in sunshine. Fruit: Pale and globular. Leaves: The leaves are dark green, heart-shaped and long stalked. The leaves often contain light patches on them.

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Roman Chamomile

Flower: The flowers resemble large white daisies. Flowers measure between 1.8 and 2.5cm across. White-edged, green bracts. Pollinated by flies, bees and beetles. Fruit: An oblong, seed-like fruit. The seeds ripen from June to October. Leaves: A hairy, mat-forming perennial plant with finely divided leaves and thread-like leaflets.

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Sicilian Chamomile

Flower: Sicilian Chamomile produces daisy-like flower heads with white ray florets surrounding a yellow central disc. Each flower is around 2–3 cm across, and blooms are typically abundant and long-lasting, appearing from late spring through summer (May to August). The flower heads resemble those of true ch... Fruit: The fruit is a small, dry achene, typical of the daisy family (Asteraceae). These achenes are ribbed and without a pappus, and they mature after flowering, although self-seeding is usually limited in colder climates. Leaves: The leaves are finely divided, feathery, and silvery-green, forming dense, low-growing mats. They are deeply pinnatisect (divided almost to the midrib) and often appear downy or woolly, especially when young. This foliage gives the plant an attractive texture and a soft, silver-toned look, especiall...

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Lesser Chickweed

Flower: Deeply notched, white petals. The petals are usually absent but when not, they are minute. Flowers measure 3 to 6mm across. Sepals are hairless, unlike the downy sepals of the similar looking Common Chickweed (Stellaria media). 1 or 2 stamens. Common Chickweed has 3 to 5 stamens. Fruit: Green, oval fruits on long stalks. Unlike Common Chickweed the fruit stalks are not drooping. Pale yellowish-brown seeds. Leaves: Small, pale, yellowish-green leaves. The oval to oblong, pointed leaves are short-stalked and in opposite pairs up the stems. Untoothed. A prostrate annual.

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Creeping Cinquefoil

Flower: Yellow, 5 petals, buttercup-like with a notch at the end of each petal. Fruit: A head of dry greyish-brown tiny nutlets, or achenes. Leaves: Long-stalked, alternate, compound leaves, with stipules. 3 to 5 toothed leaflets. The leaves look very similar in appearance to those of Strawberry and Creeping Cinquefoil is often misidentified as Strawberry.

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Red Clover

Flower: Pinkish-purple egg-shaped flowers with very short stalks. Sometimes unstalked. Up to 3cm wide. Fruit: Egg-shaped pod, not hairy. Leaves: Each leaf has 3 finely toothed leaflets, the lower ones being stalked and upper unstalked. Leaflets often have a white crescent in their centres. Leaflets are variable in shape from round to linear and pointed.

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White Clover

Flower: Dull white becoming brown with age, egg-shaped, up to 2cm wide. Fruit: A linear pea-like pod which contains 3 or 4 heart-shaped yellow-brown seeds. Leaves: The leaves are trifoliate which means that they are divided into 3. The leaves are long-stalked and individual leaflets are circular with fine teeth along the margins. The leaves often have pale green or white v-shaped patterns on them. Occasionally (1 in 5,000 specimens) you may find a 4-leaf clove...

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Alsike Clover

Flower: Alsike Clover bears globular flower heads made up of numerous small florets that range from pale pink to white, often with a pink flush at the base. Blooming from June to September, the flower heads are typically 1–2 cm wide and held on long, slender stalks above the foliage. It attracts a variety o... Fruit: The fruit is a small, pod-like structure that remains hidden within the withered flower head. Each pod contains a few tiny, yellowish to brown seeds. As the flower head dries, the seeds are gradually released and may be scattered by wind, rain, or animals. It also self-seeds readily and can establis... Leaves: The leaves are trifoliate (made up of three leaflets), with each leaflet oval to slightly oblong in shape. Unlike White Clover (Trifolium repens), Alsike Clover leaves usually lack the pale crescent-shaped markings. The leaflets are smooth-edged or very finely toothed, and the plant has a slightly u...

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Strawberry Clover

Flower: Flowerheads are densely packed with pink or light red, stalkless pea-shaped flowers. The flowers turn darker throughout the growing season. Fruit: The fruit of Strawberry clover is a distinctive and small dry indehiscent achene, resembling a tiny strawberry. The achene is typically red or pink, contributing to the plant's common name. It contains seeds and is borne in clusters, adding a decorative element to the overall appearance of the plant... Leaves: A perennial herb with compound serrated leaves. 3 leaflets. Similar to White Clover but smaller and with thicker bent back veins. The leaves are long-stalked and leaf tips are notched.

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Birdsfoot Clover

Flower: Short-stalked pale pink or white flowers in clusters of 1 to 4. Individual flowers are 6 to 8mm across. Fruit: The fruit are pea-like pods. Leaves: A prostrate hairy annual flower that has trefoil leaves. Birdsfoot Clover is similar to Burrowing Clover (Trifolium subterraneum) but is not hairy.

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