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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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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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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Marsh Bedstraw

Flower: Marsh Bedstraw produces small, star-like white flowers from June to September. Each flower has four narrow petals arranged in a cross shape, giving a delicate, open appearance. The flowers grow in loose, branched clusters at the tips of stems and leaf axils. Though individually tiny—only 2–3 mm acro... Fruit: The fruit consists of a pair of tiny round nutlets, each with a rough surface and covered in hooked bristles that help them cling to passing animals or float in water. These ripen in late summer and autumn. This method of dispersal aids the plant’s spread through marshes, ditches, and boggy areas. Leaves: Leaves are narrow, lance-shaped, and arranged in whorls of four to six around the stem. They are smooth-edged, with a slightly glossy green surface, and lack the backward-pointing hooks seen in some other Galium species. The stems are weak and square in cross-section, often sprawling or scrambling o...

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Great Marsh Bedstraw

Flower: The flowers are small and white, appearing together in clusters. The flowers are larger than those of Marsh Bedstraw (Galium palustre). Fruit: The fruit is a wrinkled nutlet. Leaves: The leaves are configured in whorls of 4 to 6. They have rough margins. The stems are without prickles. This is a perennial species, sometimes growing in water. It can be found throughout all parts of the British Isles.

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Slender Marsh Bedstraw

Flower: Flowers appear in small clusters. The flowers are pale pink on the outside and creamy-white inside. Flowers each measure 2 or 3mm across. Fruit: The fruit is a high domed, warted nutlet. Leaves: The linear leaves are in whorls of 4 to 6 along the stems. The tips of the leaves can be either blunt or pointed. Similar in appearance to Fen Bedstraw (Galium uliginosum) and Marsh Bedstraw (Galium palustre) except Slender Marsh Bedstraw is more slender and weaker branched. It is also a shorter gro...

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Creeping Bent

Flower: Clusters of flower spikelets, usually awned. Spikelets have only one floret. Often purplish. Similar in appearance to Common Bent (Agrostis capillaris) but its flowerheads are less open. Wind pollinated. Fruit: A brown caryopsis (a type of dry one-seeded fruit). Leaves: A perennial grass with creeping runners. Flat leaves with long pointed ligules. Abundant all over the British Isles.

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New Forest Bladderwort

Flower: 2-lipped. The airborne flowers appear on stalked, leafless stems. The flowers of New Forest Bladderwort have a broad, flat lip. Fruit: The fruit is a capsule. Leaves: A carnivorous aquatic plant whose leaves are comprised of numerous thread-like segments. Its minute bristles and small bladders trap insects as a means of obtaining food. In autumn, the bladders fill with water and cause the plant to sink to the bottom. In the British Isles, this species only occurs...

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Lesser Bladderwort

Flower: Pale greenish-yellow, up to 8mm across. The flowers have a short, blunt spur. The flowers look similar to those of Snapdragon. Fruit: The fruit is a round capsule. Leaves: A small, carnivorous, perennial flower with leaves that alternate along the stems. This is the smallest of the British Bladderwort species. The leaves are sometimes bristled. The bladders trap small animals inside them in order to feed.

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Nordic Bladderwort

Flower: Utricularia stygia produces small, violet to deep purple flowers on slender, erect stalks (scapes) that rise above the water surface. Each flower is around 6–10 mm across and consists of a two-lipped corolla, with the lower lip often having yellow markings. The flowering period in the UK is typicall... Fruit: The fruit is a tiny capsule containing many minute seeds, but in practice, Utricularia stygia reproduces far more commonly via vegetative means. Like other bladderworts, it overwinters by producing turions—compact, bud-like structures that sink to the bottom and re-sprout in spring. Seed production ... Leaves: This species lacks traditional leaves. Instead, it has finely divided, rootless submerged shoots bearing minute bladder traps (utricles). These bladders are less than 2 mm wide and are used to trap and digest tiny aquatic organisms, such as protozoa and small crustaceans. The traps operate with a va...

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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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Greater Bladderwort

Flower: Rich yellow flowers, similar to those of Snapdragon. The lower lip of the flower is curved upwards and contains some red venation. The sepals are small, green and egg-shaped. Flower stalks are short and green. The most common of Britain's Bladderworts. Pollinated by bees. Fruit: A very small, round capsule. Very rarely seen. Leaves: A perennial, aquatic and carnivorous species of flower. The thread-like leaves are alternate along the stems. They zigzag between branches. Reddish-green bladder-like organs (up to 5mm wide) are present along the stems. These are used to trap insects on which the plant feeds. The evergreen underwate...

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Blinks

Flower: Blinks produces tiny, delicate white to pale pink flowers with five rounded petals, typically about 5 mm across. These flowers bloom from spring to late summer and often grow in clusters on slender stems, giving a subtle splash of color in wet or damp habitats. Fruit: The fruit is a small, round capsule that splits open when ripe to release numerous tiny seeds. Because the seeds are so minute, they can be easily dispersed by water or mud, fitting the plant’s preference for damp or aquatic environments. Leaves: Leaves of Montia fontana are small, fleshy, and shiny, usually oval to lance-shaped, growing opposite or in whorls along creeping or trailing stems. The bright green leaves often have a succulent texture, helping the plant thrive in moist soil or shallow water.

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Brookweed

Flower: Flower spikes (racemes). Each flower has an inward bending long stalk and is about 2 to 4mm across. The bend in the stalk has a tiny, pointed bract. Triangular but blunt-pointed sepals. Orange heart-shaped anthers. Yellow pollen. Fruit: Green globular fruit capsules containing many reddish-brown seeds. The seeds ripen from July to August. Leaves: A hairless, normally unbranched flower with pale green, fleshy, upright, spoon-shaped leaves. The oval leaves remain close to the stems. The basal leaves are the largest. The stem leaves are alternately positioned going up the stem. Deciduous, short-lived perennial. Most frequently found near the se...

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