The London plane tree is, as its name suggests, a familiar sight along the roadsides and in the parks of London. An introduced and widely planted species, it is tough enough to put up with city…

These pretty black and red moths are often confused for butterflies! Their black and yellow caterpillars are a common sight on ragwort plants. The caterpillar’s bright colours warn predators not…

Crosswort gets its name from the position of its leaves - they surround the stem in groups of four, making a cross shape. The tiny, yellow flowers sit atop these crosses and bloom from April to…

Planaria are flatworms in the phylum Platyhelminthes with amazing regeneration abilities giving them the title 'immortal under the edge of a knife'. There are many different species that…

The Notch-horned cleg-fly isa horse fly dark grey in colour, with grey-brown mottled wings and intricately striped, iridescent eyes. There are 30 species of horse-fly in the UK; this is one of the…

Famed for its super-fast fishing dives into the sea, the northern gannet (or gannet) is a distinctive white bird with a yellow head and black wingtips. It nests in large, noisy, smelly colonies on…

An introduced species, Common evening-primrose is now naturalised on waste ground, roadside verges and railway cuttings. It has long been used to produce the herbal remedy, evening-primrose oil.…

Ivy-leaved toadflax is an introduced species in the UK that has become widely naturalised. Look for creeping along old walls and pavements, and shingle beaches. Its flowers resemble those of…

Common bird's-foot-trefoil has a vareity of names that conjure up some interesting images: 'Eggs and Bacon', for instance! Its small, yellow, slipper-like flowers can be seen in all…

The subject of much myth and legend, and a herbal remedy, Perforate st John's-wort is a familiar flower. It has star-shaped, bright yellow flowers and lots of tiny holes in its leaves that…