Often seen carpeting the floor of ancient woodlands, Dog's mercury can quickly colonise, its fresh green leaves shading out rarer plants. It is also very poisonous.

Field wood-rush is a short rush that forms tufts in grassy places, such as lawns, parks and downlands. A defining characteristic is its leaf-like leaves that are fringed with long, white hairs.…

Great mullein is an impressive, tall plant of waste ground, roadside verges and gardens. Its candle-like flower spikes rise from rosettes of furry, silver-green leaves.

A climbing plant of woodlands, hedgerows, riverbanks and gardens, Hedge bindweed can become a pest in some places. It has large, trumpet-shaped, white flowers and arrow-shaped leaves.

The Monkey-puzzle tree is unmistakeable with its pyramidal shape, jutting branches and stiff, dark green 'spines' (its leaves). Widely planted in the UK's parks and gardens, it is…

The disc-shaped leaves and straw-coloured flower spikes of Navelwort help to identify this plant. As does its habitat - look for it growing from crevices in rocks, walls and stony areas.

As its name suggests, Red bartsia does have a red tinge to its stem, leaves and small flowers. Look for it on roadside verges, railway cuttings and waste ground in summer.

Soft brome is a tall, annual grass of roadside verges, waste ground and meadows, and is a 'weed' of arable land. It has long, grey-green leaves and loosely clustered flower spikes.

Wavy hair-grass lives up to its name: its fine, hair-like leaves and delicate flower heads can be seen shaking in the breeze of a windswept moorland or heathland.

A tall orchid of woodland and scrub, the broad-leaved helleborine has greenish, purple-tinged flowers that look a little 'drooping'. Strongly veined, oval leaves spiral around its stem…

Common whitebeam is not a common tree, despite its name. It can be found growing wild in a variety of habitats, but is also planted in towns and gardens. Look for shiny, oval leaves with white…