Common Alder

Flower: Yellow and pendulous (male catkins). Green and oval (female catkins). Male and female catkins present on same tree, and grouped in clusters of 3-8 on each stalk. Fruit: In winter the catkins turn into hard, dark, cone-like fruit which eventually release the seeds. Leaves: Deciduous. Round, dark green, leathery, smooth, serrated edges.

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Marsh Arrowgrass

Flower: A flower spike. The green flowers have purple edges. Individual flowers are up to 3mm wide. Flowers have 3 petals and 6 stamens. Fruit: Narrow, erect and arrow-like. Leaves: Long and grass-like leaves with deep grooves.

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Broad-leaved Arrowhead

Flower: The white (pink tinged) flowers have 3 petals and 3 green sepals. They form flower spikes and each flower is about 4cm wide. This species is similar to Arrowhead (Sagittaria saggitifolia) but without the base of the petals being purple. Purple stamens. Insect pollinated. Fruit: The fruits are globular and produce seeds that ripen in August and September. Leaves: Arrow-shaped leaves on the end of a stalk, up to 30cm in length. Perennial.

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Canadian Arrowhead

Flower: Flowers are in whorls of 3, each measuring approximately 1 inch across. The petals are white, tinged pink. 6 or more stamens. Pollinated by insects. Fruit: Globular fruit covered in hooked seeds. The fruit turns reddish as the seeds mature. Leaves: An aquatic perennial with submerged, broadly elliptical, long-stalked leaves, tapering to a point.

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Bog Arum

Flower: A greenish white spadix, up to 8cm long. Pollinated by flies. Fruit: Red berries in autumn. The seeds ripen in August and September. Leaves: A deciduous, evergreen perennial which grows in shallow water. The broadly heart-shaped leaves are dark green and glossy.

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Alpine Bartsia

Flower: Dark purple flowers with leafy bracts. The flowers are occasionally yellow. 4 stamens. Fruit: A dark brown, oval capsule. 2 valves. Leaves: A downy perennial plant with purple-tinted, oval, untoothed leaves. Unstalked. The leaves appear together in opposite pairs along the stems.

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White Beak-sedge

Flower: White Beak-sedge (Rhynchospora alba) features small, inconspicuous flowers with pale to creamy-colored petals, typically arranged in compact clusters or spikelets at the tips of its slender, grass-like stems. The flowers are delicate and often go unnoticed due to their subtle appearance, but they ad... Fruit: The fruit of White Beak-sedge consists of small, nut-like achenes. These achenes are typically dark brown or black and are attached to the plant's stem in clusters. They have a hard, seed-like shell and are dispersed by wind or water, contributing to the plant's reproductive cycle. Leaves: The leaves of White Beak-sedge are long, slender, and grass-like in appearance. They are typically dark green and have a linear shape. These leaves grow in dense tufts and arise from the base of the plant, forming an attractive clump. The leaves are typically smooth and narrow, adding to the overall...

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Marsh Bedstraw

Flower: Small, white flowers. Up to 4mm in diameter. Fruit: Small, globular fruit, slightly wrinkled. Leaves: Rough-margined leaves, in whorls of 4 to 6. Stems are without prickles. The similar-looking Fen Bedstraw (Galium oliginosum) does not have prickles on the stems. Perennial which sometimes grows in water.

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Dwarf Birch

Flower: Greenish-brown erect catkins, up to 1.5cm long. Smaller than the catkins of Downy Birch and Silver Birch. Wind pollinated. Fruit: The fruit is a small winged achene (a type of one-seeded, dry fruit). In fruit from July to September. Leaves: Small, round, hairless and deeply toothed. They are downy when young. Up to 1.5mm across. The leaves turn yellow, orange or red in autumn.

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Hairy Bittercress

Flower: Tiny and forming clusters at the top. 4 white petals with 4 yellow stamens. Counting the number of stamens is perhaps the most reliable way to distinguish this flower from the almost identical Wavy Bittercress which has 6 yellow stamens. Fruit: Long and slender seed pods that split open when ripe. Leaves: Basal rosette, anything up to 9 inches long. Compound leaves with alternate leaflets that have one leaf per node along the main upright stem. The leaves persist throughout the winter months.

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Wavy Bittercress

Flower: Tiny and forming clusters at the top. 4 white petals with 6 yellow stamens. Counting the number of stamens is perhaps the most reliable way to distinguish this flower from the almost identical Hairy Bittercress which has 4 yellow stamens. Fruit: Long, thin, cylindrical seed pods which usually are lower than the topmost flowers. This is useful to know when trying to distinguish this flower from Hairy Bittercress which has seed pods that normally overtop the flowers. Leaves: The basal rosette has alternate leaves. Stem leaves are compound with 3-6 pairs of leaflets and a terminal leaflet. Leaflets are wavy edged. The upright main stem upon which the leaves emerge from are likely to be zigzagged or wavy after which the plant is named.

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Intermediate Bladderwort

Flower: Yellow, Snapdragon-like flowers (up to 14mm across) and a spur, up to 1cm long. Rarely flowering. Fruit: The fruit is a rounded capsule (rarely seen). Leaves: Green leaves which are arranged alternately along the stems. This species of Bladderwort never has bladders, unlike most of the other species. Perennial and carnivorous.

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Nordic Bladderwort

Flower: Small pale yellow flowers, similar looking to Snapdragon flowers. Fruit: A globular capsule. Leaves: An aquatic carnivorous plant, often tinged red.

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Wavy Bladderwort

Flower: Yellow flowers, up to 15mm across. The lower lip has flat or slightly upturned margins and the spur is 7 or 8mm long. Flowers are on stems between 10 and 20cm in length. This species is similar in appearance to Greater Bladderwort (Utricularia vulgaris) but has paler flowers and the lower lip of Gre... Fruit: The fruits are rarely seen in the British Isles. They are a many-seeded, globular capsule, similar in appearance to a small grape. Leaves: An aquatic perennial species. The green, thread-like, segmented leaves are present on both submerged and aerial stems.

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Blueberry

Flower: Clusters of small white or pale pink, bell-shaped flowers, 8 to 9mm in size. Pollinated by bees. Fruit: Bluish-black berries, up to 12mm in diameter. The berries are larger than those of Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus). The seeds ripen in August. Leaves: A garden escape species (UK) similar in appearance to Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) but with larger leaves. Blueberry is also taller than Bilberry. The leaves of Blueberry are narrowly oval, glossy and dark green, measuring up to 5cm (2 inches) long.

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