Sweet Alyssum

Flower: Sweet Alyssum is a charming and petite flowering plant with delicate blooms. The flowers, shaped like small clusters, come in a variety of colours, including white, pink, purple, and lavender. Each flower consists of four petals, creating a dainty and intricate appearance. The fragrance of these blo... Fruit: Sweet Alyssum is not typically grown for its fruit, as it is primarily cultivated for its attractive and fragrant flowers. The plant produces small, inconspicuous fruits that are not commonly a focal point in gardening discussions. The main ornamental appeal of Sweet Alyssum lies in its profusion of... Leaves: Sweet Alyssum features small, lance-shaped leaves that contribute to its overall compact and neat appearance. The leaves are typically green in colour and form a dense carpet of foliage beneath the delicate clusters of flowers. These leaves are relatively small in size, adding to the fine texture of...

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Sea Aster

Flower: The Sea Aster graces the coastal landscapes of the United Kingdom with its stunning flowers, showcasing a kaleidoscope of hues, including soft pinks, purples, and lavenders. Blooming from late summer through early autumn, these vibrant flowers contribute to the picturesque beauty of shorelines. The ... Fruit: The Sea Aster produces small, inconspicuous fruits that follow the blooming period. These fruits, often referred to as achenes, possess a subtle yet essential role in the plant's reproductive cycle. Enclosed within the dried flower head, the achenes are dispersed through various mechanisms, aiding i... Leaves: The Sea Aster boasts leaves that exhibit a diversity of shapes, ranging from lanceolate to elliptical, contributing to its overall visual allure. These resilient leaves, with their distinctive green hues, form a dense foliage that plays a vital role in stabilizing coastal soils and preventing erosio...

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Sea Beet

Flower: Sea Beet bears small, inconspicuous greenish flowers. These flowers are typically modest in size and bloom from late spring to early summer. The plant's flowering stems emerge from the glossy foliage, adding a subtle touch to its coastal habitat. While not known for flamboyant blossoms, Sea Beet's f... Fruit: The fruit of Sea Beet consists of small, rounded seed clusters encapsulated within fleshy, triangular structures known as bracts. These bracts often have a papery texture and can take on a reddish or purplish hue. The seeds are contained within these protective structures, and as the plant matures, ... Leaves: Sea Beet is characterized by its large, fleshy leaves, which have a glossy surface. The leaves are typically green but may display a red or purplish tinge, particularly on the stems. These leaves are edible, and when young, they are often harvested for culinary purposes, offering a taste reminiscent...

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Sea Bindweed

Flower: The flowers of Sea Bindweed (Calystegia soldanella) are striking and distinctive, typically funnel-shaped and measuring 3-5 cm in diameter. They exhibit a delicate pink to purple hue with prominent white stripes running along the petals, creating a visually appealing contrast. Blooming from late spr... Fruit: The fruit of Sea Bindweed is a small, round capsule that develops after the plant's distinctive flowers have been pollinated. These capsules contain several seeds, which are black, smooth, and shiny. The seeds are dispersed primarily by wind and water, allowing the plant to colonize new areas along ... Leaves: The leaves of Sea Bindweed are notable for their unique shape and adaptation to coastal environments. They are kidney-shaped to rounded, often described as fleshy and waxy, which helps to reduce water loss in the sandy, saline habitats where the plant thrives. The leaves are arranged alternately alo...

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Virgin's Bower

Flower: Star-shaped white flowers. Fruit: The fruit is a green achene which is a kind of dry, one-seeded fruit. The fluffy seedheads ripen from October to January. Pollinated by flies and bees. Leaves: A deciduous climber with dark green 2-pinnate leaves, similar in appearance to Traveller's Joy (Clematis vitalba). In leaf from March to November.

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Common Broomrape

Flower: Papery-looking, creamy yellow and usually with dark reddish-purple veins. Flowers are each up to 16mm long. Yellow stigma, sometimes purple. Fruit: The fruit of Common Broomrape is a small, capsule-like structure. This fruit is typically brown and can vary in size, containing numerous tiny seeds. The capsule develops after the flowering stage, and when mature, it splits open to release the seeds, contributing to the plant's reproductive cycle. ... Leaves: Broomrapes do not have leaves. They are parasitic; numerous hosts, in particular Black Medick and Wild Carrot. The stems of Common Broomrape are reddish-brown and occasionally creamy yellow. Most common in south-east England, scarce elsewhere. Broomrape species are notoriously difficult to tell apar...

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Sea Buckthorn

Flower: Tiny green and without petals, appearing along the stems. Fruit: An abundance of orange berries cover the tree. Leaves: Deciduous. Silvery leaves that are linear and untoothed.

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Bugloss

Flower: Light blue, bell-shaped flowers with white honeyguides, measuring approximately 5mm across. The petal-tube is curved. Pollinated by bees. Fruit: Bugloss does not produce traditional fruits; instead, it reproduces through seeds. The plant produces small, black seeds that are dispersed for propagation. The seeds are not typically considered fruits in the botanical sense, but they play a crucial role in the plant's reproductive cycle. The seeds... Leaves: The stems are hairy and bristly. The narrow, pointed leaves are also hairy and warty. The upper leaves clasp their stems. Leaves alternate along the stems. Basal leaves are stalked but the upper leaves are stalkless. The leaves are shallow-toothed and hairy on both sides.

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Bunny Ears

Flower: Bunny Ear (Lomentaria articulata) is a distinctive marine red algae found in the coastal waters of Europe. Its name derives from its flattened, branching thalli that resemble bunny ears. The algae display a reddish hue, and their tiny, rounded reproductive structures, known as cystocarps, are scatte... Fruit: Bunny Ear does not produce fruit in the traditional sense, as it is a type of marine red algae. Instead, it reproduces through the formation of cystocarps, which are small, rounded structures that develop on the thalli. These cystocarps contain the spores necessary for the algae's reproductive cycle... Leaves: Bunny Ear lacks traditional leaves, as it is a type of marine red algae. Instead of leaves, it has flattened, branching thalli that resemble the shape of bunny ears, giving the algae its common name. These thalli are the primary structures involved in photosynthesis, nutrient absorption, and reprodu...

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Isle of Man Cabbage

Flower: Bright yellow flowers with pale brown veins, 2 to 2.5cm in size. Pollinated by insects. Fruit: The fruit is a cylindrical pod, waisted and beaked. The seeds form a single row within the beak of the fruit. Leaves: The glossy, pinnate leaves are dark green to greyish and form a basal rosette at the base of the plant. Stem leaves are absent. Isle of Man Cabbage is difficult to identify by the flower alone. However, it's narrow lobes of the pinnate leaves make it distinguishable from other similar species.

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Lundy Cabbage

Flower: Yellow flowers with quite well spaced petals. Similar in appearance to Isle of Man Cabbage (Coincya monensis) but the yellow flowers are richer in colour. The stalks of the flowers are longer than the sepals. Fruit: The fruit is a pod. Leaves: A short-lived perennial flower with pinnate basal leaves. Similar in appearance to Isle of Man Cabbage (Coincya monensis) but woody at the base.

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Small-flowered Catchfly

Flower: Flowers are yellowish-white or pink. The tips of the petals are slightly notched. Pollinated by bees, butterflies and moths. Fruit: The fruit is a capsule whose seeds ripen from July to October. Leaves: A stickily hairy annual flower. The leaves are broadly lance-shaped and pointed. The leaves are in opposite pairs up the stems. Each leaf measure up to 3.5cm in length. The variety of Small-flowered Catchfly (Silene gallica quinquevulnera) has red blotched flowers but is much less common.

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Sand Catstail

Flower: Green flower spike, fading to yellow later in the season. Maximum length of the flower spike is 5cm. Fruit: The fruits of grasses are known as caryopses. They are a type of dry, one-seeded fruit. Leaves: Flat, linear leaves. Blunt ligules.

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Seaside Centaury

Flower: Tight clusters of pink flowers. Occasionally a white flower may be seen. Similar in appearance to Common Centaury (Centaurium erythraea) but is a smaller plant and the flowers are more bluish-pink. Lesser Centaury (Centaurium pulchellum) is also similar but it's petals are smaller and more slender. ... Fruit: A 2-sectioned seed capsule. Leaves: An erect plant with stalkless, leathery, smooth and hairless, strap-shaped leaves. The leaves are parallel sided (a distinguishing feature), rather unlike other species of Centaury found in the UK. Basal and stem leaves are both present. The stem leaves are in opposite pairs up the stem. Can be foun...

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Bur Chervil

Flower: 5 white notched petals. The flowers are loosely clustered inside umbels. Fruit: Egg-shaped, beaked seedpods, warty on this inside. Covered in short, hooked spines. About 3mm long. Leaves: An annual plant with fern-like or feathery leaves. 2 or 3-pinnate. Hairless, hollow stems. Similar looking to Garden Chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium).

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