This small reddish-purple seaweed grows in small branching fans on rocky shores. It is widely used in the food industry - and might have been used to produce your ice cream, beer or even jelly!…

As its name suggests, the Melancholy thistle was once used to treat 'melancholia' (depression). Today, it can be found in upland hay meadows showing off its single, purple, thistle-like…

A lovely pale cream colour to begin with these stout mushrooms begin to turn a buff colour and the cap surface will crack as they age.

A 'weed' of cultivated and disturbed ground, Round-leaved fluellen is a trailing plant with round leaves and yellow flowers that appear over summer.

He loves me, he loves me not' is a familiar rhyme associated with what is probably our most well-known plant: the common daisy. Its white-and-yellow flower heads brighten up lawns, verges and…

Our most familiar wild violet, the Common dog-violet can be spotted in a range of habitats from woodland to grassland, hedgerows to pastures. Its pansy-like, purple flowers appear from April to…

A common plant of disturbed ground like roadside verges and field edges, the spear thistle has purple, fluffy flower heads that appear in summer. Its flowers attract insects and its seeds feed…

The starling is a familiar garden visitor that has a beautiful purple-and-green sheen to its black feathers. It is famous for its wintry aerial displays - massive flocks can be seen wheeling over…

This little cuttlefish really lives up to its name - it only reaches about 6cm long!

This brown seaweed lives in the lower shore and gets its name from the serrated edges to its fronds.