A common spider of heathland and grassland, the Nursery web spider has brown and black stripes running the length of its body. It is an active hunter, only using its silk to create a protective…

Red valerian was introduced in the 1600s from Europe, but is now naturalised in the UK. Its pinky-red flowers grow from old walls, roadside verges, railway cuttings and cliffs, and provide nectar…

The pink, frayed flowers of Ragged-robin are an increasingly rare sight as our wild wetland habitats disappear. You can help: grow native plants in your garden and enjoy the hum of visiting…

Considered a gardener’s best friend, hedgehogs will happily hoover up insects roaming in vegetable beds. Famously covered in spines, hedgehogs like to eat all sorts of bugs and crunchy beetles.…

The dense, spiky tufts of Marram grass are a familiar sight on our windswept coasts. In fact, its matted roots help to stabilise sand dunes, allowing them to grow up and become colonised by other…

A spindly tree of heathland and moorlands, and damp soils, the Downy birch is well known for its paper-thin, white bark. It is so-called for the hairy stalks from which its leaves grow; the Silver…

Oyster mushrooms are shell shaped fungi that grow in tiers or fabulous clusters on dead trees or stumps. Unlike many fungi, these mushrooms are not seasonal and can be found all year round,…

In summer, the 'frothy' flowers of lady's bedstraw can carpet the grasses of meadows, heaths and coasts with yellow and fill the air with a sweet, honey-like scent.

Look for the unusual flowers of lords-and-ladies in spring woodlands: a pale green sheath surrounds a spike of tiny, yellow flowers. This spike eventually forms a familiar, short stalk of striking…

The green hairstreak is the UK's only green butterfly. Look out for the vibrant, metallic sheen of the undersides of its wings on grassland and moorland, and along woodland rides.