Return home

About us

Guide and FAQ

See all plates

User Guide

How do I use this site?

Answer the first question (is it a tree/shrub, and aquatic plant, or neither?). For aquatics you go straight to the plates, and for trees/shrubs you get one more question. But for everything else, you are now asked two things about your plant which will greatly narrow down which family it belongs to, and will allow us to show you possible plates it might be on. So have a look at infloresence type (how the flowers are arranged) and individual flower traits (symmetry, number of petals). Full details follow:

Inflorescence Type

Unless your plant is a tree/shrub or a submerged/floating aquatic, you will need to assign your plant to one of the six categories below, and hence choose a column on the screen, based on how the flowers are arranged:

Inflorescence	Description
	Single or pair: refers to flowers that appear to be held singly or with no more than one other, like a poppy.
	In leaf axils: the leaf axil is the junction where the leaf stalk (Petiole) is connected to the stem. Plants in this category have flowers either sitting right in the leaf axil, or coming out of it on unbranched stalks.
	Spike or raceme: these describe a single stem with flowers arranged along it one by one, either on individuals stalks (raceme) or stalkless (spike), but with no further branching. This is seen for example on foxgloves, snapdragons and lupins.
	Umbel or double umbel: an umbel is a very exact structure, where a single stem divides into many little ones at a single point, like the spokes of a bicycle. A double umbel, as seen on cow parsley and most of its relatives, occurs when each branch of an umbel does the same thing again, breaking at a single point into three or more smaller stems. On a single umbel, an insect walking from one flower to another would pass exactly one junction, on a double umbel it would pass exactly three, or exactly one.
	Complex group: this describes any branching group of flowers that does not fit the above categories. It differs from an umbel in that the number of junctions separating some of the flowers will be more than 3, and from a spike/raceme in that the main flower stem will have side branches that themselves branch further. Familiar examples include lilac, elder, and meadow-sweet.
	Tight head: where the flowers are so tightly packed that you cannot see how they are arranged, like a clover.

If you’re not sure, take your best guess. This site is set up to allow for common mistakes - for example, a daisy is actually a tight head of flowers of two kinds, some yellow and round, others white and strap-shaped, but it looks like a single flower with >6 petals, so you will also find it under those categories. Likewise, a Rosebay Willowherb has 4-petalled flowers that are slightly bilaterally symmetrical, with most arranged in a spike but the lowest ones in leaf axils. You will find it under any combination of these character options.

Flower Type

Next, choose a row by determining flower type. First, if the flowers are green or brown, they are likely to be small and hard to count petals on (if indeed they have any!), so go to the bottom two rows, and choose one based on whether the leaves are grass-like (long and parallel-sided to triangular) or not. Second, if the flowers are bilaterally symmetrical, (like a pansy) three is a special row for these. Otherwise, count the petals and choose a number: 3 or 6, 4, 5, or more than 6. If five, because this is much the commonest number, check if the petals are joined to each other, at least at the base. A good way to check is whether they fall individually (like a poppy) or as a group (like a speedwell). If you’re really not sure, take your best guess and try one row, then the other.
With row and column chosen, press the appropriate button, and you will be shown all the possible plates that your plant might be on. Simply scroll through them all and look for the plant that best matches your find, bearing in mind the frequency, flowering time and habitat information provided for each. Note that you will usually be shown complete families, even though not all family members may fit your chosen traits – for example rose family members may have 4, 5 or (very rarely) 8 petals, and various inflorescence types. However, by seeing all members of each family together, you will begin to learn to recognise families and what unites them, which means that using this site should improve your skills as you go along.

There are several species that look the same – which one have I got?

Experienced botanists use keys to distinguish between similar looking species. Keys will be added to this site next year, but for the time being, what to do will depend on how dedicated you are! If you’re just starting out, you can make an educated guess that the species you’ve found is the most common of those shown, especially if the habitat and flowering time are right. You can also get more details on habitat and geographical range at the Plant Atlas 2020 project. However, if you want to know for certain, then you are ready to purchase and use an ID guide that includes keys, such as the Wild Flower Key by Francis Rose, the Collins Flower Guide (Britain and Ireland) by D. Streeter, et al., or for aspiring experts, the New Flora of the British Isles by Clive Stace. All of these can be used alongside this website.

How do I use the rarity codes?

Each species is given a rarity code on the eight-point scale shown on thr right. This is to avoid the problem faced by every beginner of thinking “Oh, it looks most like that one”, only to find on reading the text that the plant selected is very rare. As a general rule, assume your plant is the commonest of the things it looks like, unless you can show otherwise. Roughly speaking, each category is approximately four times more common than the one below.
Note that while a beginner is extremely unlikely to encounter a native plant in the “VR” category outside botanical hotspots like the Lizard or Teesdale, alien species in this category can pop up anywhere. Also remember that these categories apply to plants in the wild, so if you’re looking at something planted in a garden, they do not apply. Very familiar plants like Hydrangea are very rare as garden escapes, and the rarity code reflects this.

Why are extinct plants included?

Plants in the final (XR) category may be certainly or possibly extinct, or so rare that they are not seen every year. Extinct plants are included here because of the possibility that they might reappear, most likely due to reintroduction efforts. The XR category is only used for natives or long-established aliens.

What does the flowering time indicate? How can I use it?

The flowering time period is shown in the form of a ring surround the rarity symbol. An example is shown on the right of a flowering period of April to July. The months of the year follow the numbers on a clock face, i.e. January is 12-1, February 1-2, etc. The months when a species is normally in flower are shown, the rest made extremely faint.

It should be noted that flowering times are a guide rather than an absolute rule, and occasional individuals may be found flowering outside of a normal period for a species. For commoner species at least, flowering periods may be viewed as when most individuals are likely to be in flower. However, flowering periods may also happen earlier or later in any given year due to weather conditions (e.g. a hot or cold spring will bring flowering times forward or backward, respectively).

What do the plant origins mean?

Plants present in Britain have been divided into five categories based on how they came to be in the wild in our area. These are indicated by the colour of the box surrounding the species name, as follows:

What do the habitat codes mean?

For each species, one or more habitats are shown. In reality, the habitat needs of plants are complex, but here they are simplified into 22 categories. Some plants are shown with more than one habitat, indicating that they typically occur on one or the other, and/or that they especially occur in places that combine both habitats (e.g. wet ground on mountains). For much more information on habitat for a chosen plant, go to the Plant Atlas 2020 project and type the plant’s name. Plants that are trees, shrubs or full parasites are also indicated by symbols shown below.

Image	Habitat
	Any type of grassy place, from meadows to lawns.
	Alkaline grasslands, e.g. chalk downs or over limestone. Sometimes man-made habitats like quarries or waste ground can provide similar habitats.
	Acidic grassland, e.g. on peaty soils, or where heather grows nearby.
	Any vegetation that is somewhere between grassland and woodland, e.g. tall vegetation, hedgerows, etc.
	Woodland of any kind.
	Heathland habitats are acidic, often on sandy soils, and generally dominated by heathers or other Ericaceae.
	Exposed ground with few other plants present – often a very small patch.
	Bare rock or rocky place.
	Found in any habitat on mountains. Some mountain species come down to sea level in the far north of Scotland.
	Wet places of any kind: bogs, fens, marshes, and by ponds rivers or streams.
	Growing in a water body, as a floating plant or anchored at the bottom with all parts floating or underwater except sometimes flowers.
	Growing in seawater or brackish water.
	Any type of coastal habitat: saltmarsh, beaches, sea cliffs, salt-sprayed ground by sea.
	Ground subject to any kind of recent disturbance – usually but not always man-made. Plants in this category may occur in any of the next five habitats.
	Where a man-made area has been abandoned and left to grow wild.
	Growing on walls.
	A weed of cultivation, in gardens, flowerbeds, lawns or pavements, etc. Can be in fields but species that specialise in fields are in the next category.
	Growing as a weed in arable (crop) fields, or in disturbed ground around fields.
	Ground sown with seed mix – often on disturbed ground and/or where building (e.g. of path, road etc) has just finished. The giveaway is finding several highly unusual species together.
	Deliberately planted in wild places or public parsks/commons. Mostly trees or shrubs, sometimes bulbs.
	Parasite on other plants or on fungi. Has no chlorophyll (i.e. not green), and sometimes growing on other plants. Mistletoe is pale green and combines parasitism with some chlorophyll.
	Woody shrub. Includes some very low-growing shrubs (for which symbol is shown small). Grades into “tree” for some larger species.
	Tree. Used rather than “shrub” where there is a single main stem (trunk), but a tree may form shrub-like form when young or in particular situations (exposed clifftop, hedge, etc).

FAQs

I found an error, mistake, or bug!

This is a new resource, built by one very busy University lecturer and a second year student. As such, despite all our best efforts, there are bound to be occasional errors or omissions. If you spot one, please contact us!
Likewise, if you have suggestions for improvements, other feedback, or just want to tell us if it worked for you, please do get in touch at r.milne@ed.ac.uk.

What species does this cover?

At the time of writing, this resource includes images of almost all native flowering plant species present in Britain, and a high proportion of alien taxa. Some native species that closely resemble other more common species have not been included.

Where are the photos from, and are there any yet to be added?

Almost all photos are by Dr Milne, the exceptions being one (Plymouth Pear) by his parents Jane and Andrew, and a handful of copyright-free images taken from Wikimedia and very old picture books that are out of copyright. The plan is to gradually replace these with photos over the next few years. In addition, he is well behind on grasses, and more complete plates for these will be added in autumn or early next year, along with ferns and conifers.

Why aren't all British alien species included in this guide?

Although only two thirds of the alien species recorded from Britain are shown here, these include almost all of the more common ones. In fact the bulk of alien species recorded from Britain are extremely rare here, many having been seen only a very few times and often only persisting for a year or two. Famous thugs like the Japanese Knotweed, Giant Hogweed and Rhododendron ponticum are the exception, not the rule! Most aliens are not invasive, and many die out very quickly. This means that you are highly unlikely to encounter an alien not shown here but if you do, please report it to the BSBI as it might be a rare and interesting introduction.

How are the rarity codes assigned?

The scores are assigned mostly based on the number of records of a plant in the BSBI database since the year 2000 (you can see numbers of records by typing the same name here). However some adjustments have been made based on my own experience of the plants and how likely the beginner is to come across them – for example Heather is probably far more abundant in Britain than Green Alkanet, but the latter is far more frequently encountered in towns and parks.

How are the plant name assigned?

The names given to plants (both scientific and common names) mostly follow those from the Atlas 2020 project. However some of the rarer aliens are not listed in the Atlas, so in those cases scientific names were taken from the BSBI records database, and common names (and flowering times) found using a Google search.

I want to connect with more plant lovers!

Join the BSBI, or if in Scotland, the BSS. On Bluesky, connect with @wildflowerhour, @BSBI, @botsocscot, @milneorchid, and you’ll soon find other planty people that they interact with. On Facebook, Plant ID UK is a good place to start

Can I get better resolution images?

Currently we are using relatively low resolution images because of concerns about loading speed. We will look at providing higher resolution images in the future once it has been thoroughly tested.

Can I use, modify, or distribute these plates?

These plates are under a CC BY-NC-SA license. They are free for use in any scientific or educational endeavour, as long as you attribute us. Higher resolution photos of all these species are available from Dr Milne on request; for commercial use, we can discuss it. More information available here