Come and be part of a global voice for wild plants and fungi
This year on National Meadows Day, we are campaigning for the protection of irreplaceable meadows – and we need your help!
Our wildflower meadows are a powerful ally in the fight against climate change – but they are in trouble!
“Will you help protect and restore irreplaceable habitats?”
Our corporate partners benefit from 35 years of experience in nature restoration so they can achieve real impact.
Become a Plantlife member today and together we will rebuild a world rich in plants and fungi
Oenanthe silaifolia
This is not an easy plant to easily identify because it looks like a lot of other ‘umbellifers’, plants topped by a mass of frothy white flowers such as Cow Parsley, Wild Carrot and Hogweed. But there are a few clues to help you find it.
First, like the other six native species of Water-dropwort in the UK, it is found in wet places. But this species is particularly associated with floodplain meadows where its tall, hollow, grooved, thin stems can reach up higher than most surrounding wildflowers. These are topped by 4-8 roundish masses of white flowers known as umbels, each lacking modified leaves (bracts) beneath the umbel.
Below ground, it has thick spindle shaped tubers.
As floodplain meadows have dramatically disappeared from the British countryside, so has Narrow-leaved Water-dropwort. There are only an estimated 1,100 hectares of water meadows remaining in England and Wales, less than the size of Heathrow Airport, but there are causes for optimism as society is waking up to the sustainable benefits of these special habitats. These irreplaceable meadows are incredible carbon stores and flood defences, as their deep and absorbent soils hold and slow the flow of flood water.
A heartening example is Lugg Meadow, one of the UK’s most important and historic floodplain meadows. The only known stronghold for Narrow-leaved Water-dropwort in Herefordshire, the county Wildlife Trust is currently delivering a Natural England Species Recovery project to secure the plant’s future on the meadow. Also found on stream sides, and Narrow-leaved Water-dropwort known to colonise restored wet grassland on habitat restoration schemes.
Ellie Chowns MP, is currently working with us as a Species Champion to raise awareness of Narrow-leaved Water-dropwort and its causes of decline.
Find out more about Species and Nature Champions here.
Platanthera bifolia
The best time to see the Lesser Butterfly-orchid is spring into summertime with June to July being the peak flowering time.
The Lesser Butterfly-orchid is a sweet-smelling plant, which grows across the UK. It can be found in a range of habitats, such as grasslands, meadows, bogs, woodlands, calcareous fens, and scrub, although it may be difficult to spot as it has declined in recent years.
Unfortunately, the Lesser Butterfly-orchid has been lost from much of its habitat in the UK, and is now endangered. One of the reasons for this decline is an increased use in agricultural chemicals which eradicate the soil fungi necessary for the plant to survive.
Carolyn Thomas MS, is currently working with us as a Species Champion to raise awareness of Lesser Butterfly-orchid and its causes of decline.
Drymocallis rupestris
Photograph taken by Nahhan
Rock Cinquefoil is part of the Potentilla genus, which contains more than 500 species of flowering plants in the rose family (Rosaceae). They are commonly called cinquefoil. They typically look similar to strawberry plants but differ with their fruits usually being dry and their seeds – each being technically a single fruit are actually tiny nuts.
It can be found in only a handful of sites across Britain, and populations are small. A species recovery project taking place in Wales at Criggion Quarry, Montgomeryshire has bolstered populations by collecting seeds and using transplants as part of their ongoing quarry restoration plan.
Native in Britain, but it is a rare native flower in the wild, it can only be found in two locations in Scotland and three in Mid-Wales, and one of the sites in Wales is thought to be an introduction.
The Genus name ‘Potentilla’ comes from the Latin ‘potens’, meaning ‘powerful’ in reference to the reputed medicinal properties of the plant. It was first described by Linnaeus in 1753. The genus is said to have been used in both medicine and magic since the time of Hippocrates.
It’s species name ‘rupestris’ comes from the Latin word for rock, ‘rupes’, meaning it lives on cliffs or rocks.
Fulgensia fulgens
This rare lichen is not just striking, but also a crucial part of the biological soil crust community which stabilises soils and facilitates the growth of other plants. It also hosts a globally rare fungus Lichenochora epifulgens which is even rarer than the Scrambled Egg lichen itself.
It grows on open short calcareous grasslands and dunes. It needs an open, well-lit, free draining substrate such as limestone, chalk or sand made from shells, with a high pH. Most often it grows over mosses or sometime directly on rock, at coastal sites in the south and west of Britain.
As the name suggests, it really does look like a scrambled egg. It has a crust-like yellow body which is often paler in the middle with scattered orange fruits of 1.5mm.
It is historically rare in Britain and had gone extinct in the east of England due to habitat loss as a result of changes in farming practices, an increase in tree cover and a loss of rabbits.
We are working to bring it back to the Breckland through a process known as translocation. Read how expert Dave Lamacraft translocated the Scrambled Egg Lichen, taking it 350 miles, and transplanted it using bookbinding glue!
Moneses uniflora
One-flowered Wintergreen can be a hard one to spot. As well as being very rare, it’s a small, single-flowered plant that grows on the forest floor, which can make it harder to see.
It is a distinctive plant however. Each plant has just 1 stem, and 1 flower. The flower heads are white, with 5 petals and 5 filaments with anthers, leaves at the base of the plant form in a rosette.
This pretty plant is very rare. In the UK, it can only be found in pine woods in North East Scotland.
One-flowered Wintergreen only occurs at specific sites, and is often isolated to an area a few tens of metres across in a large and apparently suitable woodland.
As part of a possibly global decline, we have recorded it going locally extinct at more than half of the sites it was recorded at, since 2000.
We have been working with this plant up in the Cairngorms and have had some break throughs in understanding it better. Read more about our work with One-flowered Wintergreen here.
We have been working hard to save this tiny wildflower in Scotland. In Autumn 2023 we translocated 109 individual One-flowered Wintergreen rosettes from two sites in to RSPB Abernethy, reinforcing a tiny relic population.
The translocation was a huge success, with a 70 per cent survival success rate one year on. Read the full story here.
We are currently continuing our work with the species through our Resilience and Recovery, Helping Rare Species Adapt to a Changing World project. Follow our journey here.
Two delicate One-flowered Wintergreen plants appear on the forest floor, taken by Keilidh Ewan
A One-Flowered Wintergreen bloom droops it’s head toward the forest floor, photograph taken by Keilidh Ewan
A close up of a One-flowered Wintergreen flower head taken by Keilidh Ewan
A One-flowered Wintergreen plant is photographed on the forest floor next to other small woodland plants photograph taken by Keilidh Ewan
A pretty One-flowered Wintergreen wildflower grows on the forest floor bathed in sunlight, taken by Keilidh Ewan
Three One-flowered Wintergreen plants can be seen in bud, taken by Keilidh Ewan
A close-up image of a One-flowered Wintergreen flowerhead, taken by Keilidh Ewan
A close-up image of a One-flowered Wintergreen taken by Keilidh Ewan
Amanita muscaria
Fly Agaric can be found in woodlands and along woodland edges. They often reoccur in the same place over multiple years and are widespread throughout Britain and Ireland.
The name Fly Agaric refers to the fungus having been used as an insecticide.
If the white spots wash off the Fly agaric cap, it can be mistaken for red Russula species such as the Beechwood sickener Russula nobilis. There are also other Amanita species which look similar to the Fly Agaric but lack the distinctive red cap (e.g. The Blusher, Amanita rubescens)
Fungi underpin the health of our environment and are key to resolving the climate, ecological and societal challenges we face. Your donation could help increase understanding of fungi and get them the support they need.
Tripleurospermum maritimum
Sea Mayweed is very similar to it’s relative the Scentless Mayweed. One way to spot the difference is that the Sea Mayweed has shorter and thicker leaves that are quite succulent.
It belongs to the Daisy family and, like it’s relative is a composite, which means the ‘flower’ head that you see is actually made up of many different tiny flowers. Just like the Daisy, these consist of white ray florets and then yellow disc florets in the centre.
Sea Mayweed is a perennial plant that grows up to 60cm high with 4cm flowering heads.
As the name suggests, this is a coastal plant that loves to be close to the sea. You can find it all around the UK, on cliffs, sea walls and beaches as well as waste ground that is near the ocean.
Sea Mayweed belongs to the Asteraceae family, which is the largest plant family in the world and contains species ranging from the Common Daisy Bellis perennis to the Lettuce and from Sunflowers Helianthus, to Artichokes!
Leucanthemum vulgare
In bloom around the summer solstice, this large daisy is a sure sign that summer has arrived.
Each large flower is actually not just one flower, but many. The yellow centre is made up of lots of small yellow flowers, just like its smaller relative, the daisy.
The nectar from these flowers is an important food source for pollinating insects like beetles, bees, and butterflies.
The Oxeye daisy looks similar to the daisy but it is a much larger plant. It is taller, reaching a height of up to 70 cm, and its larger flowerheads can be up to 6 cm across. The base leaves are spoon-shaped and up to 8 cm long. The stem leaves are toothed and more oblong.
Oxeye daisy is a common plant that grows in grassy places. It can be seen in a variety of habitats, including grasslands, dunes, coastal cliffs, verges and waste ground.
In both urban and rural areas, the Oxeye daisy can be found lining roadsides in grass verges, making them a common sight for many during British summertime.
Viola arvensis
Field Pansy is a delicate flower from the Violet family, and is the wild relative of the Garden Pansy. It’s a small low-growing perennial which can be easily confused with the Wild Pansy, however it has much smaller flowers. It is self-fertile and attracts butterflies such as the Queen of Spain Fritillary which will lay its eggs on the plant.
The flowers of Field Pansy are solitary and 15mm across. They have creamy yellow petals which are sometimes bluish-violet. Its sepals are pointed, and often longer than or the same length as the petals. Its stipules look like lobed leaves, and the leaves are oblong in shape. The plant grows up to 20cm tall.
While Field Pansy can be found throughout the UK, it is more common in the East half of the UK and SE Ireland. It’s most commonly found in dry arable field margins and waste spaces.
We will keep you updated by email about our work, news, campaigning, appeals and ways to get involved. We will never share your details and you can opt out at any time. Read our Privacy Notice.
