As its name suggests, the Dwarf thistle is a low-growing plant that is almost stemless - its purple, thistle-like flower heads growing out of a rosette of spiny leaves.

Bittersweet is a nightshade, so is toxic; its bright red berries may be tempting, but can cause serious illness. Found in hedgerows and gardens, it has purple flowers with yellow stamens.

The tightly packed, thistle-like purple flower heads of common knapweed bloom on all kinds of grasslands. Also regularly called black knapweed, this plant attracts clouds of butterflies.

A common thistle of roadside verges, rough grassland and waste ground, the Musk thistle has large, purple, nodding flower heads that appear in summer. It is attractive to a wide range of insects…

This fluffy moth is one of the few species that fly in winter.

With a torpedo-shaped body and long, narrow wings, the privet hawk-moth is a striking garden visitor. But the caterpillars really stand out: lime-green, with purple streaks and a black hook at the…

One of the most striking and beautiful reef species found in the UK!

As its name suggests, giant hogweed it a large umbellifer with distinctively ridged, hollow stems. An introduced species, it is an invasive weed of riverbanks, where it prevents native species…

There are several species of cucumber spider, recognised by their bright green abdomen.