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Lepista nuda
This mushroom is found amongst leaf litter in deciduous and mixed woodland, also occasionally under hedgerows, in permanent pasture and on compost heaps. It is sometimes seen growing in circles, known as ‘fairy rings’.
Lepista is derived from the Latin meaning goblet, and is a reference to the concave, funnel-shaped caps seen in mature specimens of this fungus.
May be confused with the Field blewit Lepista saeva which has a violet-blue coloured stem, but which does not have the same colouring to the gills or the cap. The Goatcheese webcap Cortinarius camphoratus is similar in certain respects, although rare. The Bruising webcap, Cortinarius purpurascens shares the purple-brown cap, purple stem and gills, but may be distinguished by its markedly-swollen stem base and the rust colour left by the spores on its gills.
Platanthera chlorantha
You’re most likely to find Greater Butterfly-orchid on old or recently restored hay meadows, particularly on well drained calcareous soils. You can also find them on pastures, open scrub and woodland.
They look very similar to their close cousins the Lesser Butterfly-orchid but have slightly larger flowers that are green tinged rather than pure white. You can also look for the pollen bearing structures on their petals called pollinia. These sacs of pollen are V shaped on the Greater Butterfly-orchid but parallel shaped on the Lesser Butterfly-orchid.
This is found across Britain particularly in the south. It’s has steadily declined across the UK over the past 100 years. The reasons are varied but in woodlands where they need dappled sunlight, they have suffered from conifer plantation planting and changes to traditional woodland management.
In grasslands, farming changes, such as too much or too little grazing, or early hay cutting before the plant has chance to flower and set seed, have had a particularly negative effect. The use of chemical fertilizers have also disrupted the delicate soil fungal network that orchids rely on for survival.
Plantlife owns and manages two reserves in Wales that are rich in Greater Butterfly-orchid – Caeau Tan y Bwlch on the Llŷn peninsula in the north, and Cae Blaen-dyffryn above Lampeter in mid Wales. The latter also contains Lesser Butterfly-orchid, so giving you a great opportunity to see the subtle differences between these two beautiful orchid species.
Carolyn Thomas MS, is currently working with us as a Species Champion to raise awareness of Greater Butterfly-orchid and its causes of decline. Find out more about Species and Nature Champions here.
Glechoma hederacea
Ground Ivy is an aromatic creeping herb with funnel-shaped violet flowers.
This small, common evergreen perennial belongs to the mint family and spreads rapidly in a carpet-like form due to its creeping stems. Despite its name, it is not closely related to common ivy.
Ground Ivy has upright flowering stems bearing between two and four violet two-lipped flowers in a whorl. The lower lip has purple spots. Its leaves are scalloped in shape, which may explain why catsfoot is one of its many nicknames.
It is commonly found in woodlands, meadows, hedgerows, and wasteland throughout the British Isles, although it is rarer in Scotland. It also thrives in lawns as it survives mowing.
Cypripedium calceolus
The best time to see Lady’s-slipper in bloom is the springtime, between May and June. However, they are not a flower that you‘re likely to come across on your morning walk. Once widespread across Cumbria, Durham, Lancashire, Yorkshire and Derbyshire, Lady’s-slipper suffered severe losses as a result of over-collecting and habitat loss. By 1917 it was thought to be extinct in the wild.
Over the last few years, we’ve been working with partners Natural England, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, the National Trust and the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) on a project led by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, to bring the plant back from the brink.
Read the full story here.
For years there was just one single Lady’s-slipper in the wild in the UK, and it‘s location remains a closely guarded secret.
Today, a number of the plants are flourishing in the wild and there is once again the chance for the public to witness these wonderful wildflowers in their natural habitat.
For a chance to see the orchid, you can visit Kilnsey Park near Grassington in the Yorkshire Dales in late May and early June. You can find more information here.
Photo shows Lady’s-slipper seed pod – all photos taken by Kevin Walker
Nyholmiella gymnostoma
As the name suggests, Aspen Bristle-moss is an Aspen Populus tremula specialist, it grows exclusively on Aspen tree bark. While you may see Aspen trees occasionally across the country, Aspen dominated woodland with a range of young and older trees is very rare. These sites provide a home for this and other rare species of epiphyte (species which grow on the surface of other plants).
Aspen Bristle-moss is only known to grow at three sites in the entire UK. All three sites are in and around the Cairngorms in Scotland.
Aspen Bristle-moss can be spotted all throughout the year. Though given that it only grows at three sites, it is a particularly tricky one to find.
Mosses and liches which grow as epiphytes are often easiest to spot in winter months as they remain green all year round, are often fresher and brighter when wet, and are not obscured by summer vegetation.
This beautiful, tiny moss was believed to be extinct in the UK in 2000, but a lucky find in 2003 sparked a drive to hunt for it again. It was quickly discovered at three new sites, but no further patches have been found since.
Our new Resilience and Recovery, Helping Rare Species Adapt to a Changing World project is currently looking at this and other species of rare Aspen epiphyte. The project will investigate whether these often overlooked species are truly as rare as they seem, or just under-recorded.
Read more about our work with Aspen Bristle-moss here.
Photos taken by Gus Routledge
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
Eranthis hyemalis
Winter Aconite is an easy one to keep an eye out for, as it has beautiful bright yellow flowers that help it stand out. Keep your eyes on the ground as it’s a small plant, that grows up to 15cm.
Underneath its pretty flower, it has a whorl of leaf-like bracts that a form a ruffly collar.
This pretty plant is especially common in the east of England, and can be found in parks and woodlands.
Winter Aconite however is not a native wildflower. It was introduced in the 16th century as a garden plant. Now centuries later, it is considered naturalised.
Winter Aconite has a number of different nicknames. In some regions, the pretty yellow flowers have been nicknamed ‘choirboys’. It’s said that the name came from the ruffle of leaves that surround the flower head. In other regions, they have been known as ‘Christmas-rose’ or ‘New Year’s Gift’, owing to their mid-winter appearance.
Ilex aquifolium
Holly can grow very tall, up to 15m. It’s an evergreen tree so stays in leaf all year round, with sharp, spiny leaves that are thick, glossy and dark green in colour. You can see it flowering between May and August with small white flowers, each with four petals. In winter it fruits with shiny red berries.
Holly is a native plant that can be found all over the British Isles as well as western and central Europe. It prefers to grow in hedgerows, scrubland, woodlands and wooded pastures, and prefers acidic soils.
Holly is a common decoration in our homes around the festive season and was in fact thought to be lucky by many cultures. It was believed that Holly could bring you luck, protection and improve your fortunes. However there is also bad luck associated with Holly. It’s believed to be bad luck if you cut down a whole Holly tree.
There’s many myths and legends associated with Holly that span across many countries, cultures and religions. One Christian-based tale suggests that the Holly once had white berries, but when Jesus was on the cross, his blood dripped onto the plants and stained the berries red forever.
Perhaps the most famous folklore is that of the Holly King and the Oak King, in which many iterations, the two are brothers. The story goes that the Oak King was the ruler of the summer months, while the Holly King was the lord of the winter.
The telling of the story varies, but it is generally believed that on the equinoxes of autumn and spring an epic battle begins. The winner is declared by the signs of the season. When spring begins to bloom, the Oak King has taken the crown. He rules throughout summer, but gets weaker after the summer solstice. By the time the autumn equinox approaches, the Holly King makes his move and the fight begins again. The changing leaves signal the Holly King has indeed won the fight and becomes lord throughout the winter, until the cycle starts again.
Sarcoscypha austriaca
Scarlet Elfcup can be found in damp, shady areas, growing on dead hardwood on the woodland floor. They are often surrounded by moss and can be found throughout Britain and Ireland.
The name “elfcup” comes from folklore, where woodland elves were said to drink or bathe in water collecting in the cups of the fungus.
The Scarlet Elfcup is often confused with the Ruby Elfcup Sarcoscypha coccinea. It requires a microscope to tell the difference between these two species!
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.
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