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Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula)
The Venus flytrap is perhaps one of the best-known and most awesome plants. Its leaves are modified in an extraordinary way in order to feed…
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Coco-de-mer (Lodoicea maldivica)
The awesome coco-de-mer (Lodoicea maldivica) is a giant of the plant world; this palm has some of the longest leaves and the largest and…
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Fanged pitcher plant (Nepenthes bicalcarata)
The tropical pitcher plants (Nepenthes) of Asia are amongst the largest and most spectacular of all carnivorous plants, being equipped with…
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Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum)
The giant sequoia is world-renowned as the largest living thing on the planet, and these majestic trees continue to inspire wonder. Although…
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King protea (Protea cynaroides)
With its massive, bowl shaped inflorescences, the king protea is one of the most spectacular members of the Proteaceae family, and as a…
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St Helena olive (Nesiota elliptica)
In 2002, the St Helena olive had been lost from the wild and persisted only precariously, as one cultivated individual, but since then this…
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Dragon tree (Dracaena draco)
The name of this beautiful tree has mythical origins: for his 11th labour, Hercules had to bring back three golden apples from the garden of…
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Monkey puzzle (Araucaria araucana)
Monkey puzzle trees are highly distinctive, with mature trees possessing a tall, straight trunks and an umbrella of branches at the crown…
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Tennessee purple coneflower (Echinacea tennesseensis)
Vivid pink to purplish flowers crown the stems of this perennial herb, adorning the plant with colour from mid-spring until mid-autumn…
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Flame tree (Delonix regia)
The flame tree, also known as royal poinciana or flamboyant, is a member of the bean family (Leguminosae) and is widely regarded as one of…
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Harlequin flower (Sparaxis tricolor)
The bright and attractive harlequin flower can be readily identified by its characteristic orange-red flowers, which have yellow and black…
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Rafflesia (Rafflesia spp)
The dramatic Rafflesia flowers are the largest single flowers in the world; the leathery petals can reach over 90 centimetres across…
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Lava cactus (Brachycereus nesioticus)
The smallest of the cacti species that inhabit the Galápagos, the lava cactus consists of a number of short, cylindrical stems that grow in…
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Sessile oak (Quercus petraea)
Like other oak trees, the sessile oak (Quercus petraea) has a special place in culture and folklore, and is a much-loved symbol of strength…
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Titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum)
The spectacular titan arum produces the world’s largest compound flower or inflorescence; the largest of which is reported to have reached 3…
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Azobe (Lophira alata)
The alternative name for this large rainforest tree, ‘ironwood’, refers to the very heavy and hard nature of its valuable timber. The trunk…
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Madagascar pitcher plant (Nepenthes madagascariensis)
The Madagascar pitcher plant is a carnivorous plant that produces impressive ‘pitchers’ that catch the insect prey.…
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Greater cobra lily (Chasmanthe floribunda)
The greater cobra lily is a striking, winter-growing South African plant with sword-shaped leaves that envelope the lower part of the erect…
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Ash (Fraxinus excelsior)
The ash is one of our tallest native trees. It has a fairly open crown, becoming oval or spherical in shape as it ages. The bark is greyish…
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Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta)
The bluebell, popularly thought of as Britain's national flower, is a bulbous spring flowering plant. When growing en masse in woodlands it…
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White lauan (Shorea contorta)
The white lauan belongs to the dipterocarp family, a group of important timber trees that dominate the lowland rainforests of Asia. The…
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Black ebony (Diospyros tessellaria)
Recognised for the highly prized quality of its timber, black ebony is a canopy tree that was exploited on a large scale during the Dutch…
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Daisy (Bellis perennis)
The humble yet cheerfully attractive daisy is familiar to most as a 'weed' of lawns and a feature of many children's games. The small, hairy…
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Green pitcher plant (Sarracenia oreophila)
The green pitcher plant is a carnivorous plant with highly modified leaves in the form of pitchers that act as pitfall traps for prey. The…
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Okoumé (Aucoumea klaineana)
This medium- to large-sized evergreen is Gabon’s most important commercial tree, contributing around 90 percent of the country’s total…
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Red campion (Silene dioica)
Red campion is a common spring-flowering plant that in some areas is known as the 'cuckoo-flower' as it shares a season with this winged…
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Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)
The ‘spreading chestnut tree’, a common sight on village greens and alongside housing developments, is not actually native to Britain. It…
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Common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale agg)
Dandelions are well-known, robust weeds; the common name derives from the French 'dent de lion', meaning 'lion's tooth', which refers to the…
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Silver birch (Betula pendula)
One of the most familiar trees in the British countryside, the graceful silver birch is a genuine native, having been an early coloniser at…
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Fairy slipper orchid (Calypso bulbosa)
The fairy slipper orchid, which has been called the most beautiful terrestrial orchid in North America, bears a single, showy flower on a…
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Bramble (Rubus fruticosus agg.)
Brambles form a complex group known as Rubus fruticosus agg. (short for aggregate), containing around 320 individual ‘species’ known as…
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Mulanje cedar (Widdringtonia whytei)
The Mulanje cedar, declared the national tree of Malawi by the late Malawi president Hastings Kamazu Banda, is considered a very valuable…
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Red lauan (Shorea negrosensis)
This large, Philippine tree has thick dark brown to nearly black bark with a reddish tinge. The trunk is ridged with shallow furrows and…
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Pedunculate oak (Quercus robur)
The pedunculate oak (Quercus robur), the 'king of trees', has a special place in culture and folklore, and is a much-loved symbol of…
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Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
Hawthorn is also widely known as the May-tree, and is the only British plant to be named after the month in which it flowers. It is most…
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Enteromorpha (Enteromorpha spp.)
Species within the genus Enteromorpha are very difficult to identify as differences between species are small and hard to spot. They are…
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Common butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris)
Butterwort is an insectivorous plant. It produces bright purple flowers that have earned the species the alternative names of bog violet and…
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Brazil-nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa)
A particularly distinctive species because of its towering height, the Brazil-nut tree is widely considered to be one of the most…
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Brazilian rosewood (Dalbergia nigra)
One of the most highly prized woods in Brazil, the timber of the Brazilian rosewood (Dalbergia nigra) has been harvested since colonial…
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Jellyfish tree (Medusagyne oppositifolia)
The jellyfish tree was thought to be extinct until the 1970s, when a few trees were found, but the species still teeters on the brink of…
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Lady’s slipper orchid (Cypripedium calceolus)
The lady's slipper orchid is Britain's rarest and most impressive orchid. The exotic looking flowers have claret petals that frame a…
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Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)
Blackthorn is a deciduous shrub that has long been popular in hedgerows because of its thorns. The beautiful white blossom tends to appear…
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Cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris)
Cow parsley is one of the most familiar wild plants of the British countryside. Throughout the month of May, most roadsides are lined with…
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Bladder wrack (Fucus vesiculosus)
Bladder wrack is a familiar large olive-brown coloured seaweed, which attaches to rocky substrates by means of a small disc. The flattened…
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Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus)
The sycamore is a well-known tree, thought to have been introduced to Britain from Europe in the 15th or 16th Century. The domed crown is…
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Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium)
Pennyroyal is a creeping plant that has small, elliptical leaves in opposite pairs on the stem. The lilac to pinkish-purple coloured flowers…
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Bayahibe rose (Pereskia quisqueyana)
Information on the bayahibe rose is currently being researched and written and will appear here shortly.…
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Common holly (Ilex aquifolium)
With its bright red berries (found only on female plants), and shiny evergreen leaves, the native holly tree (Ilex aquifolium) has been a…
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Bell heather (Erica cinerea)
Bell heather is a feature of dry heaths where it grows to heights of 60 centimetres. The small leaves are dark green in colour, and the…
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Common chickweed (Stellaria media)
Common chickweed is a very common weed. It is extremely variable in its appearance, but generally it has a very slender tap root and greatly…
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