Skip to main content

String-of-sausages Lichen

Usnea articulata 

  • Grey-green tassels of up to 1 m hanging down or draped across the substrate but rarely anchored to it.  
  • Main stems have inflated sections which are pinched at intervals, and so resemble a string of sausages. This is a key feature to look for as there are other pendulous Usnea species but none have this characteristic.

Habitat

It is most common in the south west’s temperate rainforest zone. 

Favouring well-lit conditions and dry, open situations, it is most often found in tree canopies or on lower branches where trees are well-lit, in woodland or on scattered trees in open moorland. You can also find it on the ground after stormy weather. 

Similar species

Other large, bearded lichens include Usnea ceratina, Usnea dasopoga and Usnea hirta but these lack the sausage-like lobes. 

Did you know

  • It is a Section 41 species which means that it is considered of “principal importance for the conservation of biodiversity in England” under Section 41 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act (2006).
  • A clean air indicator, rare outside of south-west England’s rainforest zone. Highly sensitive to sulphur dioxide pollution, it was once much more widespread in Britain but now appears to be making a comeback, perhaps due to improved air quality and a warming climate. 

Distribution 

Largely restricted to south-western parts of the UK with most records in south-west England. 

Other Species

Oak moss
with little tiny branches almost like a a lot of green tiny deer antlers

Oak moss

Evernia prunastri

Smoky Spindles
Smoky Spindles

Smoky Spindles

Hygrocybe pratensis

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Ramalina fastigiata 

Juniper

Juniperis communis

Juniper berries.

Description

A prickly, sprawling evergreen shrub in the Cypress family with short spiky leaves.

Juniper blooms with small yellow flowers, followed by ‘berries’ – actually fleshy cones, that start green but ripen to blue-black.

These are famously used to flavour gin and certain meat dishes particularly game and venison. Used whole they impart a bitter, crunchy bite to savoury dishes. In fact, the word “Gin” derives from either genièvre or jenever – the French and Dutch words for “juniper”

Juniper is dioecious, which means that it is either male or female, unlike most tree species. The form of individual bushes varies from being low and prostrate at the one extreme to cylindrical and conical at the other.

Close up photo of a Juniper berry on a bush

Did you know?

  • Juniper dates back 10,000 years and was one of the first tree species to colonise the UK after the last Ice Age.
  • Juniper berries are used to flavour gin and have other uses like firewood or as a substitute for barbed wire.
  • Juniper plants take at least seven years to grow and are vulnerable to being eaten by animals.
  • In the 19th century, large tracts of Juniper were harvested for fuel for illicit trade of unlicensed whisky stills
  • It has also been called Bastard killer as the berries were swallowed to procure abortions. Its reputation as an abortifacient has echoes in the Victorian belief that gin (aptly called ‘Mother’s ruin’) was effective for the same purpose.
gloved hand holding juniper berries with the reverse the red blog

What is Plantlife doing?

In the Saving England’s Lowland Juniper project, Plantlife joined forces with landowners, supported by Natural England, to revitalise Juniper across southern England. 48 patches of land at nine sites in Wiltshire and Oxfordshire were scraped back to create a grassland habitat suitable for Juniper to regenerate.

 
Read more

a field of grass field with a variety of flowers in pink, purple, yellow and white

How can I help?

Become a grassland guardian and help restore 10,000 hectares of species-rich grassland by 2030. Donate today.

Other Species

Smoky Spindles
Smoky Spindles

Smoky Spindles

Hygrocybe pratensis

Meadow WaxCap
Apricot mushroom with flat top

Meadow WaxCap

Hygrocybe pratensis

South Stack Fleawort

Tephroseris integrifolia subsp. maritima

South Stack Fleawort by the coast

The South Stack Fleawort is found along a small section of the North Wales Coastal Path on Ynys Gybi (Holy Island).

Distribution

Found only between Parth Dafarch and RSPB South Stack Nature Reserve

Habitat

Grassy cliff tops and vegetated gullies

Best time to see

May and early June

yellow bud of flower shooting on a hairy leaves South Stack Fleawort

Did you know…

  • South Stack or Spathulate Fleawort smells sweetly of honey and is pollinated by bumblebees.
  • It is found on just a small region of coastline in North Wales and nowhere else in the world.
  • Recent genetic studies showed that its closest relatives are a small population of Field Fleawort in Bedfordshire but that it is distinct enough from those plants to maintain its status as a separate subspecies.

Plantlife supports a project to understand why this subspecies of Fleawort is only found in this small area of Ynys Gybi and the ecological requirements of the plants.

Other Species

Oak moss
with little tiny branches almost like a a lot of green tiny deer antlers

Oak moss

Evernia prunastri

Smoky Spindles
Smoky Spindles

Smoky Spindles

Hygrocybe pratensis

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Ramalina fastigiata 

Tufted Saxifrage

Saxifraga cespitosa

small flowers growing in between rocks

The Tufted Saxifrage population in Wales grows on just a couple of boulders where it is extremely threatened by spring droughts and lack of winter snow cover.

Distribution

Just 2 small boulders at one site in Wales and a number of sites in Scotland.

Habitat

Cliff ledges and boulders on calcium rich rocks in Eryri and the Scottish Highlands

Best time to see

This species flowers from May through to early June however the inaccessibility of its sites makes it a very difficult species to see in the wild.

Tufted saxifrage plant

Did you know…

Tufted Saxifrage was first discovered in the wild in Wales in 1796 but wasn’t seen between the late 1800’s and the 1950’s when it was rediscovered by Evan Roberts (the first warden of Cwm Idwal National Nature Reserve).

In the 1970’s its population was bolstered by a conservation reintroduction and it saw a population high in the 1980’s. Since then it has seen a steady decline and the Welsh population of Tufted Saxifrage now (2023) numbers just seven plants in the wild.

Through the Tlysau Mynydd Eryri Project (part of Natur am Byth!) we are successfully cultivating Welsh Tufted Saxifrage plants with a plan to enable them to move higher up the mountains of Eryri to sites where they will see snow for longer in the winter.

Other Species

Oak moss
with little tiny branches almost like a a lot of green tiny deer antlers

Oak moss

Evernia prunastri

Smoky Spindles
Smoky Spindles

Smoky Spindles

Hygrocybe pratensis

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Ramalina fastigiata 

Rosy or Irish Saxifrage

Saxifraga rosacea subsp. rosacea

Rosy Saxifrage - Robbie Blackhall-Miles

The Irish Saxifrage was once found in Wales too. Its upright buds and bright white flowers distinguish it clearly from the other ‘mossy’ saxifrages found in the British Isles.

Distribution

Several localities in Ireland and once known from just one locality in Eryri, Wales.

Habitat

Calcium rich rock ledges and crevices.

Best time to see

You can see this species flowering in cultivation at the National Botanic Garden of Wales during May and June

Rosie Saxifrage - Robbie Blackhall-Miles

Did you know?

Rosy Saxifrage is extinct in the wild in Wales. It was last seen in the wild in Wales in the 1960’s.

Richard Roberts discovered a piece of a plant that had been washed down from a cliff whilst he was leading a group on a geology walk. Noticing it was something different he took the piece of plant home and grew it. All the Welsh Rosy Saxifrage material now kept in cultivation came from that small piece of plant. Through the Tlysau Mynydd Eryri Project (part of Natur am Byth!) we plan to reintroduce Rosie Saxifrage to the wild again in Wales.

Other Species

Oak moss
with little tiny branches almost like a a lot of green tiny deer antlers

Oak moss

Evernia prunastri

Smoky Spindles
Smoky Spindles

Smoky Spindles

Hygrocybe pratensis

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Ramalina fastigiata 

Thrift

Armeria maritima

Months

Colour

Habitat

Close up shot of Thrift

This perky pink wildflower has been a favourite of gardeners since the 16th century.

However, there is nothing to match seeing it in its natural habitat: atop dramatic coastal cliffs or astride craggy islands.

How to spot it

Globular heads of pink flowers have stalks 5-30cm long. Flattened, linear, dark green leaves.

Where it grows

Across wild, coastal areas throughout the UK – especially Scotland. As well as rocky cliffs, Thrift can also be commonly found brightening up saltmarshes and other sandy areas.

Best time to see

April to July when it flowers.

Cultural info

  • County Flower of Bute, the Isles of Scilly and Pembrokeshire/Sir Benfro.
  • In the Language of Flowers thrift stands for sympathy.

How’s it doing?

Has started to appear inland on roadsides as salting creates favourable conditions.

3 things you might not know

  • In Gaelic thrift is known as tonna chladaich, meaning ‘beach wave’. In Welsh it is called clustog fair, Mary’s pillow.
  • It is also known as Sea Pink, Rock Rose and Our Ladies Cushion.
  • Thrift was used as an emblem on the threepenny-bit between 1937 and 1953 – the Mint no doubt aware of the double meaning in its name.

Other Species

Big Blue Pinkgill
A chunky blue mushroom laid out on grass

Big Blue Pinkgill

Entoloma bloxamii

Birds-foot Trefoil

Birds-foot Trefoil

Lotus corniculatus

Blackening Waxcap
A dark pointed mushroom with long stem growing in the grass

Blackening Waxcap

Hygrocybe conica

Pale Dog-violet

Viola lactea

Pale dog-violet in grass

A milky-flowered member of the violet family known in French as la Violette blanche (the white violet).

In fact the second part of its scientific name – lactea – means ‘milky’ in Latin. It has creeping stems originating from a rosette of leaves about its base.

Distribution

A species of humid heathland and grass heath in southern England, largely confined to key heathland districts including the Wealden and Thames Basin heaths, the New Forest and Dorset heaths, and through much of Devon and Cornwall (though rarely ever commonly).

Habitat

Pale Dog-violet is a species of humid heathland and grass heath (including the Culm grasslands), favouring areas with short vegetation and considerable bare ground created by burning, grazing or incidental disturbance such as rutting, turf cutting etc.

Pale dog-violet in grass

Key threats

The species’ greatest threat comes from the cessation of traditional management practices, notably winter swaling (burning of dead grass and dwarf shrubs) and traditional stock grazing, ideally by cattle and/or ponies.

Best time to see

May and June whilst flowering.

Other Species

Big Blue Pinkgill
A chunky blue mushroom laid out on grass

Big Blue Pinkgill

Entoloma bloxamii

Birds-foot Trefoil

Birds-foot Trefoil

Lotus corniculatus

Blackening Waxcap
A dark pointed mushroom with long stem growing in the grass

Blackening Waxcap

Hygrocybe conica

Spotted Rock-rose

Tuberaria guttata

A spotted rock rose in grass

A flower of the west coast, the largest colonies of Spotted Rock-rose lie on Anglesey’s Holy Island, where it is also the county flower.

Its distinct crimson-spotted flowers are matched by red-flushed leaves.

Distribution

A handful of colonies on Ynys Mon (Anglesey), Ynys Gybi (Holy Island) and the Llyn Peninsula in Wales. The only location it can be found on the British mainland is at the very end of the Llyn Peninsula

Habitat

Dry, rocky places.

Best time to see

Flowers from June to August

A spotted rock rose in grass

Did you know?

To see the spotted rock-rose in full bloom you have to catch it at just the right time. It flowers only once during its lifetime and sheds its vivid petals within hours of doing so.

The county flower of Anglesey (Cor-rosyn rhuddfannog) in Welsh is one of the priority species for the partnership project Natur am Byth!. Plantlife are working with the RSPB, Natural Resources Wales and a range of other organisations and individuals to ensure this species is protected and more fully understood. Through working with the RSPB to undertake a full review and baseline survey of the species in 2022 we now have the data at our fingertips to enable this species’ future conservation.

Other Species

Oak moss
with little tiny branches almost like a a lot of green tiny deer antlers

Oak moss

Evernia prunastri

Smoky Spindles
Smoky Spindles

Smoky Spindles

Hygrocybe pratensis

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Fanfare of trumpets lichen

Ramalina fastigiata 

Green-Winged Orchid

Orchis morio

Its Latin name, morio, means ‘fool’ and refers to the jester-like motley of its green and purple flowers.

It can sometimes be confused with the early-purple orchid – the difference is in the leaves, which are not spotted, and the sepals which have green veins.

Green-winged orchid was chosen as the County Flower of Ayrshire. It can also be seen growing at our Joan’s Hill Farm Reserve in Herefordshire.

Distribution

Widespread in most of England but has become scarce in the south-west. It is also less common in the north of England. It is well known on the Welsh coast and can be found in one small area on the west coast of Scotland

Did you know?

The green-winged orchid has many names in Scotland, suggesting a lively folklore: hen’s kames (combs), bull’s bags, dog’s dubbles, keet legs and deid man’s thoombs!

Other Species

Big Blue Pinkgill
A chunky blue mushroom laid out on grass

Big Blue Pinkgill

Entoloma bloxamii

Birds-foot Trefoil

Birds-foot Trefoil

Lotus corniculatus

Blackening Waxcap
A dark pointed mushroom with long stem growing in the grass

Blackening Waxcap

Hygrocybe conica

Mouse-ear Hawkweed

Pilosella officinarum

Mouse-ear Hawkweed

This is a lovely little wildflower that spreads to form close-knit mats of leaves in dry, sunny spots.

Each plant has a small rosette of hairy ragged leaves that are dark green above but whitish and hairy underneath. They’re rounded at the tips and not toothed. The flowers are carried on long stems from the centre of these rosettes, up to 30cm tall. Each narrow and tightly packed bloom – one per stem – is like a dandelion but a paler lemon yellow in colour. They are followed by fluffy seed heads.

Distribution

Found throughout the UK, but rarer in north-west Scotland.

Habitat

Grows in dry grassy places like meadows, pastures, verges, lawns, heaths and dunes as well as waste ground.

Best time to see

When in flower, from May to August.

Mouse-ear hawkweed

Did you know?

  • The closely related fox-and-cubs (Pilosella aurantiaca) has striking clusters of reddish-orange flowers. A garden escape, it often colonises rough grassland, lawns, verges and churchyards.

Other Species

Big Blue Pinkgill
A chunky blue mushroom laid out on grass

Big Blue Pinkgill

Entoloma bloxamii

Birds-foot Trefoil

Birds-foot Trefoil

Lotus corniculatus

Blackening Waxcap
A dark pointed mushroom with long stem growing in the grass

Blackening Waxcap

Hygrocybe conica