Garden Arabis

Flower: Clusters of small white, pink or purple flowers. Each flower is about 1.5cm across. Pollinated by bees, butterflies and moths. Fruit: A long slender capsule. The seeds ripen from April to June. Leaves: A low mat-forming perennial flower with hoary, long-stalked, oblong leaves. The leaves are slightly toothed. The upper leaves clap their stems and have arrow-shaped lobes. Evergreen.

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Chinese Barberry

Flower: Chinese Barberry produces attractive yellow flowers in spring, typically from April to May. The flowers are small (around 6–10 mm across) and borne in drooping clusters (racemes) of 6 to 25 blooms. Each flower has six petals and a central cluster of stamens that may move in response to touch — a tra... Fruit: Following flowering, the plant forms oblong to ovoid berries that ripen to a dark blue-black by late summer or early autumn. The fruit is around 1 cm long and covered in a distinctive white bloom (a powdery coating). While mildly astringent and not commonly eaten, the berries are not considered toxi... Leaves: The leaves of Berberis julianae are leathery, evergreen, and dark green with a glossy surface. They are oblong to narrowly elliptic, usually 4–9 cm long, with sharply toothed (spiny) margins. The leaves are borne in tufts along rigid stems, which are themselves armed with three-pronged spines at eac...

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Gagnepain's Barberry

Flower: Golden yellow flowers are produced in clusters of about 5 or 6 (but sometimes up to 12), borne on short shoots. Pollinated by insects. Fruit: Waxy, bluish-black, oblong fruit. 1cm in length. The seeds ripen in September and October. Leaves: A thorny shrub with simple, lanceolate, toothed leaves. The thorns on the branches are 3-spined. The teeth on the leaf margins are tipped by short spines too. Chinese Barberry (Berberis julianae) is similar in appearance but that has glossy, wider leaves and fluted branches. The leaves of Gagnepain'...

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Meadow Barley

Flower: Compact, purple-tinted, flower spikes with long awns. The spikes are a maximum of 5cm long. The rough, bristle-like glumes are shorter than those of the similar looking Wall Barley (Hordeum murinum). Fruit: The fruit is a caryopsis. Leaves: A perennial grass which is shorter than the similar looking Wall Barley. Flat, rough, mid-green leaves, 5mm wide.

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Wall Barley

Flower: Wall Barley produces dense, bristly spikes up to 10 cm long, composed of tightly packed spikelets with long, rough awns giving a distinctly “furry” or brush-like appearance. Flowering occurs from May to July, and like most grasses, the flowers are wind-pollinated and not visually showy. Fruit: The fruit is a typical grass grain (caryopsis) enclosed by persistent bristles and glumes. The whole spike can detach in segments, aiding seed dispersal along paths, fur, or clothing. The bristly nature makes the fruit a nuisance for dogs or livestock, sometimes getting stuck in ears or fur. Leaves: Leaves are broad for a grass, flat, and greyish-green, with rough edges. The sheaths are also rough, and the plant forms loosely tufted clumps, often less than 60 cm tall. The ligule is very short and membranous.

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Sea Barley

Flower: Sea Barley produces dense, bristly flower spikes resembling miniature barley ears, with long awns (bristle-like appendages) extending from the glumes. The flowers are wind-pollinated, typically appearing from May to July, and arranged in short, flattened spikes that break apart easily at maturity. Fruit: The fruit is a single-seeded grain (caryopsis) typical of grasses, enclosed within the husk formed by the glumes. The fruit detaches with its surrounding bristles, aiding dispersal by animals or wind. Leaves: Leaves are narrow, grey-green, and rough to the touch, with prominent sheaths. Like other barley species, the ligule is short and membranous, and the plant often grows low and tufted in habit, forming dense clumps in coastal areas.

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Wall Bedstraw

Flower: The minute flowers are pale green or whitish on the inside and purple tinted on the outside. The flowers measure only 1mm in diameter. Fruit: A smooth, almost black nutlet. The surface of the fruit is covered in many slender hooked bristles. Leaves: An annual sprawling flower with minute curved prickles on its many-branched stems. The leaves appear in whorls of 5 to 7 up the stem. Leaves are down-turned with minute forward pointing prickles along the edges.

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Trailing Bellflower

Flower: The Trailing Bellflower is adorned with charming violet or blue-hued flowers, forming a bell-like structure with five delicate petals. These star-shaped blossoms create a visual symphony during the late spring to early summer months. The heart-shaped, bright green foliage serves as an elegant backdr... Fruit: The Trailing Bellflower does not produce conventional fruits; instead, it reproduces through seeds. After the flowering season, the plant forms seed capsules. These capsules contain small seeds, contributing to the plant's reproductive cycle. The seeds are typically dispersed when the capsules dry a... Leaves: The leaves of the Trailing Bellflower are heart-shaped, displaying a vibrant shade of green. This foliage serves as an attractive backdrop to the plant's elegant violet or blue-hued flowers. The leaves are relatively small and have a smooth texture, contributing to the overall visual appeal of the p...

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Adria Bellflower

Flower: Many violet blue, bell-shaped flowers, each is 2cm in diameter. Adria Bellflower looks quite similar to Trailing Bellflower (Campanula poscharskyana) but is darker in colour. The flowers of Adria Bellflower also form a deeper bell. Pollinated by insects. Fruit: The fruit of Adria Bellflower typically consists of a dry, spherical capsule that contains tiny seeds. This capsule, when mature, will split open to release the seeds, allowing them to disperse and propagate the plant. Leaves: The leaves of Adria Bellflower are typically lance-shaped or elliptical, with a smooth, dark green appearance. They have a simple, alternate arrangement along the stem and may feature a slightly serrated or wavy edge. The leaves are typically medium-sized and are often covered in fine hairs, giving ...

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Bird-in-a-bush

Flower: Bird-in-a-bush produces dense, tubular flowers in shades of pink, reddish-purple, or occasionally white, blooming in March to April. The flowers are about 2 cm long, spurred at the back, and grow in compact, upright clusters (racemes) above the foliage. Each flower has a distinct lipped shape, chara... Fruit: The fruit is a narrow capsule (technically a silique), about 1–2 cm long, which splits open when mature to release small, roundish black seeds. These seeds are sometimes dispersed by ants (a process known as myrmecochory), as they possess fatty appendages (elaiosomes) attractive to them. Leaves: The foliage is finely divided and fern-like, with a delicate, blue-green hue. Leaves are typically three times dissected, giving a soft, feathery appearance. They arise from the base and may partially wither by the time the flowers are fully open, as the plant is ephemeral and goes dormant after blo...

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Narrow-leaved Bittercress

Flower: Clusters of tiny, 4-petaled, white flowers. 6 stamens. The similar looking Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) usually only has 4 stamens. Pollinated by bees, flies, butterflies and months. Fruit: The fruit is a cylindrical pod. The seeds ripen from May to September. Leaves: A biennial plant wit pinnate leaves. There are several pairs of deeply toothed, lance-shaped leaves. The leaves clasp their stems. Hairless with straight stems. The similar Wavy Bittercress (Cardamine flexuosa) has often got zigzagged stems. Often found growing on limestone pavements.

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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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Ladder Brake

Flower: Ferns do not have any flowers. They reproduce by means of spores. Fruit: The spores ripen in April and May. Leaves: The 1-pinnate leaves (fronds) are composed of paired linear leaflets. Ribbon Fern (Pteris cretica) is a similar-looking species but that has 4 to 7 pairs of leaflets whereas Ladder Brake has got 10 or more pairs of leaflets. Also, the lowest leaflet is never forked.

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Ivy Broomrape

Flower: Ivy Broomrape produces a spike of tubular, hooded flowers from June to August. The flowers are typically dull purple or brownish-violet, with paler lips and sometimes faint yellow markings. They are about 1–2 cm long and grow densely along the unbranched stem. The plant lacks chlorophyll and does no... Fruit: After pollination, the flowers develop into small, dry seed capsules that contain thousands of minute seeds. These seeds are dust-like and dispersed by wind or water, but they only germinate if they encounter the correct host plant (in this case, ivy) and environmental conditions. The capsules matur... Leaves: Ivy Broomrape has no true leaves, as it is a holoparasitic plant. Instead, it has a scaly, brownish stem devoid of green pigment. These scale-like structures are reduced leaf remnants that do not carry out photosynthesis. The plant draws all its nutrients and water from the roots of ivy, to which it...

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Buddleia

Flower: Buddleia, often called the Butterfly Bush, is renowned for its long, tapering flower spikes, which bloom from July to September. The tiny, tubular flowers are densely packed into cones that can reach up to 30 cm long. Typically purple or lilac, but also found in white, pink, and dark mauve cultivars... Fruit: After flowering, Buddleia produces elongated seed capsules that split open to release fine, dust-like seeds. These are wind-dispersed and can travel considerable distances, which explains the plant’s widespread colonisation of disturbed ground. The seeds mature in autumn and are a key reason why Bud... Leaves: The leaves are lance-shaped, grey-green on the upper side and whitish and felted underneath, giving the plant a slightly silvery look in sunlight. They grow opposite each other in pairs along the woody stems and can reach up to 20 cm long. The foliage contributes to Buddleia's resilience and drought...

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