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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Goldilocks Aster

Flower: Loose, erect clusters of bright golden yellow flowers. They measure no larger than 1.8cm across. The yellow stigmas are prominent. Very late flowering. Fruit: The fruit is an achene. An achene is a type of dry, one-seeded fruit. Leaves: Numerous, linear, lance-shaped leaves. Unlike the similar looking Golden Samphire (Inula crithmoides), the leaves are not fleshy.

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Common Barberry

Flower: Berberis vulgaris produces bright yellow, cup-shaped flowers with six petals, grouped in drooping racemes of 10–20 blossoms. These appear in April to June, each flower measuring around 5–7 mm across. The blooms are nectar-rich and attract bees, hoverflies, and other pollinators. The yellow flowers a... Fruit: The plant produces clusters of small, elongated red berries about 1 cm long, ripening from late summer into autumn (August–October). These berries are edible when fully ripe, though very sour and astringent. They were traditionally used for jams, jellies, and even as a souring agent in some Middle E... Leaves: Leaves are small (2–5 cm), oval to oblong, with toothed margins, and are arranged in whorls or clusters along the stems. They are green in summer, often turning red or purple in autumn. Each leaf cluster arises near a three-pronged thorn, a typical feature of barberries. The leaves are deciduous, fa...

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Cornish Bellflower

Flower: The white, tubular, pendulous flowers appear in spikes. Flowers measure up to 2cm long. The petals are pointed. Fruit: The fruit is a many-seeded capsule. The seeds are minute. Leaves: A clump-forming perennial with heart-shaped, softly hairy basal leaves, up to 3 inches long. The leaves are also greyish-green and toothed. Most likely to be found in Cornwall and Somerset.

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Clustered Bellflower

Flower: A compact clustered flowerhead of violet-blue, unstalked, bell-shaped or star-shaped flowers. The petals are blunt-tipped and curve outwards. A faint dark violet vein runs through the centre of each petal. Flowers are occasionally solitary where they are sometimes mistaken for a Gentian, however Gen... Fruit: The fruit is a many-seeded capsule. Leaves: Dark green, narrow, lance-shaped leaves (or slightly heart-shaped), half clasping the stem. The leaves alternate along the stems on both sides. The lower leaves are triangular and stalked. Occasionally seen as a garden escape species. Perennial and clump-forming.

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Alpine Bistort

Flower: Alpine Bistort bears small, white to pale pink flowers densely arranged in a narrow, cylindrical spike at the top of a single erect stem. Each flower has five petal-like tepals and blooms from June to August. What makes it distinctive is the presence of bulbils (asexual propagules) among the flowers... Fruit: The fruit is a small, dark brown to black three-angled nutlet (achene), but fruiting is often limited due to the predominance of vegetative reproduction via bulbils. The bulbils eventually fall to the ground and grow into new plants, allowing rapid local spread without the need for pollination. Leaves: Leaves are mostly basal, oval to lanceolate, with smooth edges and short stalks. They form a small rosette at the base of the stem, while smaller, alternate leaves may appear sparsely along the flowering stem. Leaf surfaces are usually smooth, and the overall appearance is compact and tidy—well-suit...

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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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Cut-leaved Blackberry

Flower: Rubus laciniatus produces striking, pale pink to whitish flowers, typically 2–3 cm across, blooming from June to August. Each flower has five petals that can appear slightly crinkled or wavy at the edges. The blooms are arranged in loose clusters and are highly attractive to bees and other pollinato... Fruit: The fruit is a classic blackberry-type drupelet cluster, glossy and black when ripe, usually in late summer. R. laciniatus often produces slightly elongated berries, and the flavour is excellent—juicy, sweet, and rich, making them highly desirable for foraging. Cultivated forms exist and are often u... Leaves: This species stands out for its deeply lobed, fern-like leaves, which give it a highly distinctive and ornamental appearance. The leaflets are finely dissected or "cut," hence the common name. Typically, there are five palmate leaflets per leaf, with a dark green upper surface and paler, softly hair...

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English Bluebell

Flower: The flowers of English Bluebells, with their pendulous, bell-shaped blooms, adorn the woodland floors of the United Kingdom from April to May, casting a spell of enchantment over observers. Their vivid blue hues, often seen carpeting the ground in dense colonies, create a scene of natural wonder in ... Fruit: After the blooming season, English Bluebells produce small, round fruits known as capsules, containing seeds that ensure their propagation in the following seasons. These capsules develop from the base of the flower stems, gradually swelling as the seeds ripen within. Once matured, the capsules spli... Leaves: The leaves of English Bluebells are long, narrow, and slightly glossy, emerging from the base of the plant in tufts or clusters. These strap-like leaves, characteristic of the genus Hyacinthoides, are typically dark green in colour and have a smooth texture. Arranged in an alternate fashion along th...

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Butcher's Broom

Flower: Pale yellow or green flowers, up to 5mm across. Sometimes purple-spotted around the edges. The flowers grow out from the centre of the cladodes (see the section on leaf details). 3 petals and 3 sepals. Fruit: A red berry. The seeds are distributed by birds and ripen from August to March. Leaves: Butcher's Broom has no leaves. The leaf-like structures are actually flattened stems. These structures are called 'cladodes'. This plant is a low-growing evergreen shrub with oval cladodes that end in a sharp spiny point. Throughout the British Isles, Butcher's Broom is the most common in the south ...

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Spanish Broom

Flower: Spanish Broom produces large, bright yellow, pea-like flowers in early to mid-summer (typically June to August). The flowers are borne in loose terminal racemes, and each has the classic Fabaceae structure with a prominent banner petal. The flowers are fragrant and highly attractive to bees and butt... Fruit: The fruit is a narrow, flattened pod, around 5–8 cm long, maturing to dark brown or black. Like many legumes, the pod twists open explosively when dry, dispersing its hard, dark seeds. The seeds contain toxic alkaloids, including cytisine, and are not edible. Pods are often persistent on the shrub t... Leaves: The leaves are very small, narrow-lanceolate, and sparse, quickly falling off early in the season. The plant’s green, rush-like stems perform photosynthesis, giving it a unique look among brooms. This leaflessness helps it conserve water in hot climates and is a key identifying feature.

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Oxtongue Broomrape

Flower: Oxtongue Broomrape has a dense spike of tubular, two-lipped flowers, typically pale yellow-brown to dull purple, often marked with reddish or violet streaks or blotches. Each flower measures 1.5–2 cm in length and is covered with glandular hairs. The corolla tube is usually slightly curved, and the ... Fruit: The fruit is a small, ovoid capsule that contains thousands of tiny, dust-like seeds. These seeds are wind- or rain-dispersed but can only germinate near the roots of a suitable host plant. Leaves: As with all holoparasitic broomrapes, Oxtongue Broomrape lacks chlorophyll and has no true green leaves. Instead, it bears brownish to yellowish scale-like bracts on its stout, upright stem.

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Bedstraw Broomrape

Flower: Bedstraw Broomrape produces an upright spike of tubular, two-lipped flowers, usually pale yellow-brown to pinkish-buff, often tinged with violet or purplish veins, especially on the lips. Flowers are about 1.5–2 cm long, covered in glandular hairs, and surrounded by narrow, toothed calyx lobes. Flow... Fruit: The fruit is a small capsule, around 5 mm long, containing thousands of minute, dust-like seeds. These seeds are dispersed by wind or rain splash, but germinate only when in close proximity to a suitable host. Leaves: Like other broomrapes, this species is entirely parasitic and lacks chlorophyll, so it doesn’t have true leaves. Instead, it bears brownish or yellowish scale-like bracts along the flowering stem.

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Yarrow Broomrape

Flower: The flowers are purplish-blue making them easier to identify than other Broomrape species. They measure up to 3cm in size. The flowers are dark blue veined and the petals are pointed. White stigmas. The only British species of Broomrape with 3 bracts. The lower lip of the flower is 3-lobed. Fruit: A capsule. Leaves: Yarrow Broomrape is downy all over with white hairs. It has no leaves.

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Purple Viper's Bugloss

Flower: The purple tubular flowers appear in branched spikes. They each measure up to 3cm in size. Similar in appearance to Viper's Bugloss (Echium vulgare) but is a shorter plant with 2 protruding stamens per flower. Viper's Bugloss has 4 or 5 stamens. Fruit: Wrinkled nutlets. Leaves: Lance-shaped leaves, rough and very hairy, up to 14cm long. The side veins are prominent. Annual or biennial.

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