Narrow-leaved Arrowhead

Flower: Whorls of white flowers are produced. Fruit: Globular-shaped fruit. Leaves: The leaves are narrow and linear. Floating and submerged leaves are present. There are no aerial leaves. Perennial.

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Downy Birch

Flower: Male and female catkins appear on the same tree. Erect female catkins are shorter and green. Male catkins hang loosely in groups of 2-4. Often hybridizes with Silver Birch making identification tricky. Fruit: Small dry one-sided winged fruits, called 'achenes'. Leaves: Deciduous. Ovate, pointed and with serrated margins. Light green in spring, darkening and then turning yellow or orange in autumn. Leaves are often hairy underneath.

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Thistle Broomrape

Flower: Yellowish-purple flowers with purplish-red anthers. Fruit: An egg-shaped capsule. Leaves: A parasitic plant hosting on either Creeping Thistle (Cirsium arvense) or Woolly Thistle (Cirsium eriophorum). The plant appears to be leafless but the leaves are actually scale-like and discrete.

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Common Bulrush

Flower: Tiny and densely packed, forming a chocolate-coloured sausage-shaped spike. Fruit: Fruits are minute. They are produced from the female flowers and are covered in fluffy down. Leaves: Stalkless, long-sheathed, alternate leaves which are mainly produced at the bottom of the stem. Pale blue-green and linear.

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Nodding Bur-marigold

Flower: Golden yellow, oval petals. The tips of the petals are either notched or pointed. Flowers have 5 stamens. The inner bracts are blunt and pale yellow. The green outer bracts of the flowers are long, narrow and curly. The flowers nod with age. The flowers are larger than those of the similar looking T... Fruit: A dark brown, 4-angled seed, 6 to 8mm in length. The tip of the seed has 3 or 4 barbed awns attached to it. The fruits are narrower than those of Trifid Bur-marigold. Leaves: The leaves are narrow, measuring up to 6 inches (15cm) long and 1 inch (2.5cm) wide. They are stalkless and hairless. The leaves are opposite and clasp the stem. Leaf margins have some but few large teeth. The stem is often tinged purple. The stem is thicker than that of Trifid Bur-marigold. Nodding...

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Great Burnet

Flower: Great Burnet, found in the Cotswolds, graces the landscape with its delicate and enchanting blooms. Its flowers, known for their subtle elegance, boast a captivating mix of soft, pastel hues that gently sway in the breeze. These petals, ranging from blush pinks to soothing purples, come together to ... Fruit: Great Burnet, nestled in the Cotswolds, produces small, dainty fruits that embody the quintessential British countryside. These fruits, often referred to as "hips," are small, rounded, and richly coloured, resembling tiny jewels amidst the greenery. Their deep, jewel-toned reds and purples evoke a s... Leaves: The leaves of the Great Burnet in the Cotswolds exude a simple yet enduring beauty. These leaves are lance-shaped and a rich shade of green, with a waxy sheen that catches the soft, diffused light of the Cotswold countryside. Each leaf is finely serrated along the edges, lending an air of elegance t...

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Buttonweed

Flower: The flowers of Buttonweed are small and button-like, with a distinct yellow hue. They are clustered together, creating a visually striking appearance. The plant's flowering structure adds a touch of vibrancy to its surroundings, forming clusters of these yellow button-like blooms. The overall effect... Fruit: The fruit of Buttonweed is composed of small, rounded seeds. These seeds are typically encapsulated within the mature flower head, contributing to the distinctive button-like appearance. The fruiting structure is modest in size and complements the overall low-growing and spreading nature of the plan... Leaves: The leaves of Buttonweed are green, fleshy, and characterized by distinct lobes. They emit a distinctive odor when crushed. The leaves are arranged densely along the stems, contributing to the plant's low-growing and mat-forming habit. This foliage, with its lobed structure, adds to the overall appe...

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Warty Cabbage

Flower: Long-staked, sulphur yellow flowers, between 7 and 15mm in diameter. Pollinated by flies and bees. Fruit: The fruit are fairly distinctive being asymmetrically egg-shaped, shiny and warty. 5 to 10mm long. There are 2 to 4 seeds per fruit. The seeds mature from July to September. Leaves: An erect, hairy plant covered in warty bumps. Narrowly oval, dark green leaves which are pointed, toothed and lobed. The lower leaves are long-stalked. The very top leaves are not stalked at all. Biennial or perennial.

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Grey Club-rush

Flower: Grey Club-rush produces small, inconspicuous flowers. The flowers are typically brown or green in color and appear in the form of clustered spikelets along the plant's stem. These flowers are not particularly showy but play a role in the plant's reproductive process. Fruit: Grey Club-rush produces small, inconspicuous fruits. The fruit is in the form of nutlets, which are small, dry, and often brown in colour. These nutlets contain the seeds of the plant and are sometimes enclosed within the remnants of the flower's spikelets. Leaves: The leaves of Grey Club-rush are long, narrow, and typically have a bluish-green hue. They are slender, linear, and grow from the base of the plant. The leaves can reach considerable lengths and contribute to the overall aesthetic of the plant.

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Coneflower

Flower: Daisy-like, golden yellow flowers with reflexed petals. Disc florets are brownish-green, forming a flattened cone, hence that name 'Coneflower'. Flowers measure between 7 and 14cm across. Pollinated by bees and hoverflies. Fruit: The fruit is an achene. The seeds mature from August to October. Leaves: A hairless perennial plant with deeply dissected leaves. They are lance-shaped and alternate along the stems. They are also toothed.

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Royal Fern

Flower: Ferns reproduce by means of spores. The spores appear in flower spikes and are golden brown in colour. The spores appear from June to August. Leaves: A majestic and distinctive-looking perennial fern usually growing no taller than 1.2 metres. Pinnate fronds with oblong leaflets. The Royal Fern can be seen from April to November. Sometimes occurs as a garden escape.

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Creeping Marshwort

Flower: Long-stalked white umbels. Numerous lower bracts are present. Fruit: Ridged fruits, similar to those of Fool's Watercress (Apium nodiflorum) but broader. Leaves: A prostrate creeping perennial plant with with deeply toothed leaves. It is deeper toothed than the leaves of Fool's Watercress.

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Coral Necklace

Flower: The tiny flowers appear in whorls and are borne in the leaf axils. The sepals and petals are both white. The sepals are much smaller than the petals. Fruit: The fruit is a capsule. Leaves: A hairless, trailing annual flower with blunt-tipped, oval leaves. The leaves appear together in pairs along the stems.

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Common Osier

Flower: Very short-stalked greenish catkins. Male catkins shorter than female. Fruit: The female catkins develop into the fruit as capsules which contain the seeds. Leaves: A deciduous tree. Dark green, slender leaves that are silvery-haired below. Up to 25cm long and 2cm wide.

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Milk Parsley

Flower: The white flowers appear in umbels measuring 3 to 8cm across. Petals are notched at their tips. The bracts of the flowers are all reflexed. Milk Parsley is the favourite food plant of the rare Swallowtail butterfly. Fruit: The flattened, oval fruits have 2 short styles and 2 pairs of wings. Leaves: A hairless biennial or short-lived perennial plant whose leaves are 2 to 4-pinnate. The leaflets are deeply cut with blunt tips.

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