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
Primula scotica
The ultimate northerner in our flora, Scottish Primrose grows on coastal promontories on the north coast of Scotland, including Dunnet Head, the northernmost tip of mainland Britain.
Scottish Primrose is low-growing and easily overlooked. It typically grows in heaths and coastal grasslands. As well as growing in the north coast of Scotland, this attractive flower also grows in Orkney, across the Pentland Firth, but nowhere else in the world. It is easily distinguished from the common primrose by its blueish-purple petals.
Scottish Primrose flowers from May to June.
Scottish Primrose is the county flower of Caithness.
Linnaea borealis
The beautiful Twinflower has two pink bell-like flowers on a slender stem, and a thicker stem below which creeps along the ground, forming small mats of the plant. It is one of our smallest and most delicate native flowers.
Twinflower is confined to Scotland. It grows mainly in the native, open, pine woods, particularly in the Cairngorms, and is an Arctic-Alpine plant that is a relic of the Ice Age.
The clearance of native woodlands before the 1930s resulted in severe losses of this little flower. Continued habitat destruction and changes in woodland management have also lead to declines in populations.
Twinflower is the County Flower of Inverness-shire.
The isolation of the remaining sites of Twinflower leads to poor seed production and thus contributes to its continued decline. Other threats include; mechanical harvesting of timber, the deliberate thickening of forests leading to excess shade and poor management of pine plantations leading to single age structure woodland without a niche for seedlings to develop.
One of Plantlife’s most exciting projects has been research into how the historical management of ancient pine plantation may have benefited Twinflower. A study of how timber was grown and extracted in the 18th and 19th centuries has led to a proposal to test whether these methods could boost Twinflower populations today. Read more about our work with Twinflower here.
We’re continuing our work with Twinflower through the Resilience and Recovery, Helping Rare Species Adapt to a Changing World project. Read more about our work here.
Without intervention, the delicate pink blooms of the rare Twinflower could disappear from Scotland.
Lobaria pulmonaria
Tree Lungwort is a beautiful, vibrantly green, leafy lichen. It is one of the largest lichens and is an indicator of ancient woodland.
Tree lungwort is found mainly in Scotland, particularly the west coast, where the wetter climate provides the moisture it requires to thrive. Because of air pollution, it is much sparser in the rest of Britain, confined to a few sites in wilder areas, such as the Lake District and parts of Wales.
It can be found growing on trees and old wood in areas of low air pollution.
Tree Lungwort can be spotted all throughout the year.
Cladonia rangiferina
Despite its name, reindeer moss is actually a lichen (in fact it is also known as ‘reindeer lichen’).
Composed of many light and dainty branches, it grows in cushion-like tufts. When dry it can be quite brittle but once wet it becomes somewhat sponge-like.
Reindeer moss is usually found on moors and heathland, often growing in pockets of soil attached to rocky outcrops.
Reindeer Moss can be spotted all throughout the year.
The only naturalised reindeer in the UK are found in the Scottish Highlands where they live for much of the year on reindeer moss.
A spiny evergreen shrub with yellow flowers.
Few plants make such an impact on the landscape as flowering gorse, through both its colour and scent. The latter is a distinctive coconut and vanilla smell, said to be quite pungent to some individuals, but weak to others.
The cracking of the seed-pods in hot sunshine is said to sound similar to the clacking calls of Stonechats which perch on its sprigs.
Banks, heaths and sea-cliffs. Also a signature plant of rough open space and commonland.
Folklore says you should only kiss your beloved when gorse is in flower. The good news is that either common gorse or the closely related western gorse is pretty much in bloom whatever the time of year! In fact, a few yellow flowers can generally be seen even in harsh winter months.
Its peak time, however, is April and May when almost all the plant is covered in bright yellow blossom.
It was voted the County Flower of Belfast.
Before the Industrial Revolution, gorse was valued as a fuel for fires and kilns, as well as baker’s ovens. After crushing the spines (e.g. in cider mills), gorse also made valuable feeding for stock including cattle and horses in wintertime.
Straight stems of gorse make excellent walking-sticks and the flowers can be used to make a Gorse wine. It also makes a convenient anchor for washing, acts as a chimney brush and, when in flower, as a source of colour for Easter eggs. Gorse and heather have been bound together to make besom brooms. Gardeners have been known to lay chopped gorse over emerging peas to deter pigeons and mice.
In order to prevent over-exploitation, there have historically been a wide range of conditions on harvesting, such as in Oxfordshire where people were only allowed as much as they could carry on their backs. In Hertfordshire there were regulations prohibiting cutting outside a certain parish and digging-up entire bushes. In some places even the type and size of cutting implements have been specified.
Three species of Gorse that exist in the UK are Ulex europaeus, Ulex gallii and Ulex minor:
Capsella bursa-pastoris
The seedpods of this common wildflower resemble little drawstring pouches worn by medieval peasants, spilling out tiny copper-coloured seeds when broken apart
A member of the Cabbage family, this annual plant produces flowers throughout the year, and is able to yield hundreds of seeds.
With a leafy rosette at the base, it grows to about 40cm. The leaves are larger and pinnately lobed at the bottom, and then arrow-shaped with wavy edges along the stem. It has tiny white scentless flowers arranged in a loose raceme, which are replaced by its highly recognisable seedpods.
It is widespread throughout Britain, particularly in waste grounds and cultivated fields.
Evernia prunastri
It prefers well-lit conditions, so is often present in the canopy and on lower branches in well-lit situations.
Could be confused with Ramalina farinacea (below) which has narrower, more straggly branches, and lacks the pale underside. E. prunastri also lacks the oval soralia on the edges of the lobes, which is a distinctive feature of R. farinacea.
Other lichens with strap-like branches that are likely to be encountered in the rainforest, such as Ramalina calicaris, R. fastigiata, and R. fraxinea, commonly have rounded apothecia on their branches which are extremely rare in E. prunastri.
Widespread and common across the whole British Isles
Ramalina fastigiata
A very common fruticose lichen on trees, which is easy for beginners to recognise.
As its evocative English name suggests, this lichen is relatively easy to spot once you have seen its ‘trumpets’. These are the apothecia (fruiting bodies) that stand out at the tips of many of the branches. They vary in size, but collectively make a visual impact.
Widespread and common across the British Isles with concentrations in southern England and coastal areas.
Ramalina farinacea
One of the most common fruticose species on trees with acidic bark such as alder, birch and oak. It is fairly pollution tolerant.
Could be confused with Evernia prunastri but that lacks the oval soralia on the edges of the branches and has distinctly paler undersides to the branches. When first becoming familiar with lichens you may also confuse R. fastigiata for an Usnea species as first glance, but if you look carefully you will notice that R. farinacea has flattened branches rather than cylindrical branches.
Similar to other Ramalina species such as R. calicaris, R. fastigiata, and R. fraxinea, but they have rounded apothecia (fruiting bodies) and they lack the oval soralia.
Widespread and common across the whole British Isles.
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.
