Tag: Plant Crib

Snowdrop Identification Simplified

Get started identifying cultivated and wild Snowdrops with a new snowdrop identification crib for gardeners and budding galanthophiles

It’s no secret that I love Snowdrops – growing them, finding them in the wild, and visiting collections have all proven rather addictive. Like many enthusiasts, I often struggle with identification – something I suspect is common, except among the most knowledgeable Galanthophiles. This challenge is partly due to the scattered nature of Snowdrop resources.

Having created a simplified key for widespread Snowdrop species found in the UK, I wanted to take it a step further by extending it to cultivated species and hybrids. Here is the result. Perhaps it will be useful to fellow gardeners who, like me, frequently misplace their labels!

Identifying Snowdrops

Well-naturalised in woodlands, hedgerows, large gardens, and other shady areas, snowdrops bring joy to many in late winter. Looking past the obvious similarities, they can be an interesting bunch to explore, and even with a tentative glance, it is possible to find several species with relative ease.

On top of this, the popularity of Snowdrops with collectors means that a great many species, most of which hail from Eastern Europe, have been brought into cultivation. Many of these are rather rare but several do crop up from time to time, as do hybrids. Cultivars are plentiful too but are not covered here (with a few exceptions). A good list can be found here.

The Crib

References

ZUBOV, D.A. and DAVIS, A.P. (2012). Galanthus panjutinii sp. nov.: a new name for an invalidly published species of Galanthus (Amaryllidaceae) from the northern Colchis area of Western Transcaucasia. Phytotaxa, [online] 50(1), p.55. doi:https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.50.1.5.

Myspecies.info. (2025). Galanthus alpinus [Sosn. ]. [online] Available at: https://citesbulbs.myspecies.info/category/galanthus-wild-species/galanthus-alpinus [Accessed 13 Mar. 2025].

Snowdropwiki.nl. (2016). Galanthus genus – Snowdrop Wiki. [online] Available at: https://www.snowdropwiki.nl/Snowdrop_Wiki/galanthus-genus/ [Accessed 13 Mar. 2025].

Galanthus.co.uk. (2025). Galanthus: Home. [online] Available at: https://www.galanthus.co.uk/ [Accessed 13 Mar. 2025].

Identifying Oxalis

Get started identifying the widespread Wood-sorrels (Oxalis) you’re most likely encounter in a new, simplified crib

Thank you all so much for continuing to read and download recent entries in this series of accessible plant cribs. It has been a while since I shared one (they are very much a project for the darker months) so I thought I would get back into the swing of things by sharing another challenging plant family.

After tackling common grasses the last time around, now seemed like a good time to focus on something a little more colourful – introducing our pesky urban Wood-sorrels (Oxalis)

The wood-sorrels are an interesting group of low-growing, largely perennial plants with five-petaled flowers in shades of pink, red, white and yellow. While our native Wood-sorrel (Oxalis acetosella) is very much a plant of woodlands, most are plants of human-influenced habitats – think pavements, gutters, flowerbeds and driveways. In my native Newcastle, around 8 species are infrequently encountered about these habitats, though several others are likely to occur too. The simplified key below covers those most likely to be encountered in the North East but please note, there are several rarer ones out there.

Key factors to focus on when identifying oxalis are flower colour (which can help separate them nicely into groups), flower detail, leaflet number and leaf detail.

Identifying Oxalis

Oxalis are a moderately diverse bunch. Here, we’ll aim to cover the species botanists are most likely to encounter while out and about in urban areas across the North East; though the information shared should apply equally well elsewhere in the UK. This crib focuses the following species:

  • Upright Yellow-sorrel
  • Procumbent Yellow-sorrel
  • Least Yellow-sorrel
  • Wood-sorrel
  • Pale Pink-sorrel
  • Common Pink-sorrel
  • Large-flowered Pink-sorrel
  • Broad-leaved Pink-sorrel
  • Four-leaved Pink-sorrel
  • Annual Pink-sorrel
Download the Crib

Enjoying this series? Please consider sharing this page with friends or better still, providing a back-link so that more people can find it. If you have any suggestions for further groups to cover, I’d love to hear from you.

Oxalis exilis © Jelle van Dijk, via Saxifraga

Identifying 25 Common Grasses

Get started identifying the common grasses found in urban and ruderal habitats.

Thank you all so much for continuing to read this series of plant cribs – they are evolving over time and it is great to hear your feedback! These resources have been designed primarily for a beginner’s botany course I am leading as part of my role with the Natural History Society of Northumbria but it is wonderful to see them being read, downloaded and importantly, used by so many people online. While I don’t proclaim to be an expert, and there may well be mistakes within, I hope they are coming in useful to someone, somewhere.

After tackling willowherbs, yellow composites and several other pesky groups, I wanted to try something new this week with a crib to the various common and widespread grasses so many of us see on a daily basis. Specifically, those likely to pop up in a whole host of everyday habitats – verges, parks, wasteland and the like. I certainly found it useful to learn these before straying into more complex (and often frustrating) grass species.

Identifying grasses requires at least a basic understanding of plant anatomy and it is useful to know the name of the various parts. This blog post, by Awkward Botany, would be a good starting point.

While this page contains the species that you are most likely to come across in most situations, most of the time, you should remember that there are a great many confusion species out there. A good starting point for taking your interest in grasses further would be this book by the Species Recovery Trust.

Identifying Common Grasses

The crib below covers a 25 species judged to be common and widespread in North East England, and elsewhere in the UK too. The species covered are:

  • Cock’s-foot
  • Annual, Rough, Smooth and Wood Meadow-grass
  • Yorkshire Fog
  • Creeping Soft-grass
  • Common & Creeping Bent
  • Tufted Hair-grass
  • Wavy Hair-grass
  • Red & Sheep’s-fescue
  • False Oat-grass
  • Barren & Soft-brome
  • Bearded and Common Couch
  • Perennial & Italian Rye-grass
  • Crested Dog’s-tail
  • Meadow & Marsh Foxtail
  • Timothy
  • Smaller Cat’s-tail
Download the Crib

Enjoying this series? Please consider sharing this page with friends or better still, providing a back-link so that more people can find it.

I hope to also produce similar sheets for wetland and coastal grasses, as well as an abridged version of the above featuring another dozen or so species very soon.

Identifying Yellow Composite Flowers

Get started identifying a range of widespread yellow composites with a new simplified crib

Thank you all so much for continuing to read and download recent entries in this series of accessible plant cribs. They are evolving overtime and it is great to hear your feedback!

After tackling willowherbs, I wanted to try something different base the next of these cribs on your feedback. Shock horror, it turns out the two groups you want to see tackled are yellow composites and grasses. I may need a stiff drink before turning my attention to the latter, but we can certainly give the flowers a go!

Now, most of us are familiar with the Dandelions that brighten up grassy areas with their yellow flowers come spring and summer. In many cases, however, a plant which looks like a Dandelion may not actually be so. Instead, there are several superfisically similar plants – the hawkbits, hawk’s-beards, cat’s-ears and sow-thistles – that share a similar look. Each of these shares the familiar yellow flower head making it necessary to examine other parts of the plant. Most notably, the leaves, phyllaries and often, the stem.

Another excellent resource, created by the Norfolk Flora Group, is also worth a look and can be found here.

Identifying Yellow Composites

Yellow composites are a diverse and slightly daunting group. Here, we’ll aim to cover the species botanists are most likely to encounter while out and about in the North East though the information shared should apply equally well elsewhere in the UK. This crib addresses the following species:

  • Lesser Hawkbit
  • Rough Hawkbit
  • Autumn Hawkbit
  • Smooth Hawk’s-beard
  • Beaked Hawk’s-beard
  • Rough Hawk’s-beard
  • Mouse-ear Hawkweed
  • Smooth Sow-thistle
  • Prickly Sow-thistle
  • Perennial Sow-thistle
Download the Crib

Enjoying this series? Please consider sharing this page with friends or better still, providing a back-link so that more people can find it. If you have any suggestions for further groups to cover, I’d love to hear from you.

Identifying Common Willowherbs

Get started identifying the widespread willowherbs you’re most likely encounter in a new, simplified crib

Thank you all so much for continuing to read and download recent entries in this series of accessible plant cribs. They are evolving overtime and it is great to hear your feedback.

After tackling forget-me-nots, now seemed like a good time to produce another simplified crib on an equally appealling group of plants – our pesky willowherbs.

Members of the evening-primrose family, Onagraceae, willowherbs are familiar flowers of our urban spaces. While they occur in all habitats, they are particularly prominent in human-influenced landscapes where around eight species can commonly be encountered in pavements, waste areas and even gardens. The simplified key below covers those most likely to be encountered in the North East but please note, there are several rarer ones out there.

Key factors to focus on when identifying willowherbs include the shape of the stigma, hairiness and importantly, the type of hairs present, and stem/petiole features.

Identifying Willowherbs

Willowherbs are a rather diverse bunch. Here, we’ll aim to cover the species botanists are most likely to encounter while out and about locally; though the information shared should apply equally well elsewhere in the UK. This crib addresses the following species:

  • Great Willowherb
  • Hoary Willowherb
  • Broad-leaved Willowherb
  • Square-stalked Willowherb
  • Short-fruited Willowherb
  • Marsh Willowherb
  • American Willowherb
  • Pale Willowherb

Additionally, and more for curiosity than anything else, some information is also included on various willowherb hybrids found across the UK.

Download the Crib

Enjoying this series? Please consider sharing this page with friends or better still, providing a back-link so that more people can find it. If you have any suggestions for further groups to cover, I’d love to hear from you.

Identifying Forget-me-nots

Get started identifying the widespread forget-me-nots you’re most likely encounter in a new, simplified crib

Thank you all so much for continuing to read and download recent entries in this series of accessible plant cribs. They are evolving overtime and it is great to hear your feedback.

After tackling crocuses, now seemed like a good time to produce another simplified crib on an equally appealling group of plants – our forget-me-nots.

Members of the Borage family, Forget-me-nots are familiar flowers of spring and popular for their bright blue blooms. They occur in all habitats, from urban pavements to pool-sides and upland flushes and at times, are popular as garden plants. They simplified key below covers those most likely to be encountered in the North East but please note, there are several rarer ones out there.

Key factors to focus on when identifying forget-me-nots include flower colour, style length, pedicel length and of course, the structure and arrangement of hairs.

Identifying Forget-me-nots

Forget-me-nots are not extraordinarily diverse, at least in North East England. Here, we’ll aim to cover the species botanists are most likely to encounter while out and about locally; though the information shared should apply equally well elsewhere in the UK. This crib addresses the following species:

  • Field Forget-me-not
  • Wood Forget-me-not
  • Changing Forget-me-not
  • Early Forget-me-not
  • Tufted Forget-me-not
  • Creeping Forget-me-not
  • Pale Forget-me-not
  • Water Forget-me-not
Download the Crib

Enjoying this series? Please consider sharing this page with friends or better still, providing a back-link so that more people can find it. If you have any suggestions for further groups to cover, I’d love to hear from you.

Identifying Crocuses

Get started identifying the naturalised crocuses you’re most likely encounter in a new, simplified crib.

Thank you all so much for continuing to read and download recent entries in this series of beginner’s plant cribs. They are evolving overtime and it is great to hear your feedback.

After tackling snowdrops, now seemed like a good time to produce another simplified crib on an equally appeal group of spring plants: our Crocuses.

Members of the Iris family, crocuses are extremely popular in cultivation owing to their early flowering and vibrant colours. This popularity means that they are a familiar sight in churchyards, parks and amenity areas across the UK. From time to time, several may also turn up in more natural settings as a result of garden discards or dumped horticultural waste.

Key factors to focus on when identifying crocuses include flower colour, colour of the petal tube, leaf width, and length of the reproductive parts. In some, you’ll also need to scrutinise the corm – often a challenging task!

Identifying Crocuses

Owing to a long history of hybridisation, our crocuses are a diverse bunch and can come in a daunting array of colours and forms. This makes identifying some, particularly garden cultivars, somewhat challenging. Still, data from botanists across the UK shows that certain species (and hybrids) are more likely to be encountered than others. This crib addresses the following species:

  • White Crocus (Crocus vernus)
  • Spring Crocus (Crocus neapolitanus)
  • Early Crocus (Crocus tommasinianus)
  • Sieber’s Crocus (Crocus sieberi)
  • Snow Crocus (Crocus x hybridus)
  • Yellow Crocus (Crocus x luteus)
  • Golden Crocus (Crocus chrysanthus)
  • Silvery Crocus (Crocus biflorus)
Download the Crib

Enjoying this series? Please consider sharing this page with friends or better still, providing a back-link so that more people can find it. If you have any suggestions for further groups to cover, I’d love to hear from you.

Identifying Snowdrops

Get started identifying the wild and naturalised snowdrops you’re most likely to spot in a brand-new crib sheet suitable for beginners.

Thank you all so much for continuing to read and download recent entries in this series of beginner’s plant cribs. It means a lot.

With a few more abundant groups out of the way, now seemed like a good time to move away from familiar urban plants and tackle something a little more challenging: Snowdrops.

Now, I know what you might be thinking – snowdrops all look the same. Small, white, and blooming usually (but not always) in late winter, I tend to agree. Or did, that is. Since I started looking at my local snowdrops here in Newcastle, it has become quite clear that they are far more diverse than meets the eye. Inspired by a few local finds, I wanted to explore the species you’re most likely to see wild, naturalised, and yes, planted, here in the North East. True to form, I have included some other species and varieties too but only because they’re bound to turn up eventually.

Identifying Snowdrops

Well-naturalised in woodlands, hedgerows, large gardens, and other shady areas, snowdrops bring joy to many in late winter. Looking past the obvious similarities, they can be an interesting bunch to explore, and even with a tentative glance, it is possible to find several species with relative ease. Especially if humans have been involved in spreading them. In this crib, we’ll look at:

  • Common Snowdrop
  • Giant Snowdrop
  • Pleated Snowdrop
  • Green Snowdrop
  • Queen Olga’s Snowdrop
  • Several cultivars of those above
The Crib

Enjoying this series? Please consider sharing this page with friends or better still, providing a back-link so that more people can find it 🙂

Identifying Small-flowered Fleabanes

Get started identifying small-flowered fleabanes a brand-new crib sheet suitable for beginners.

So far, this fledgling series of botanical cribs has focused on plants commonly encountered in urban areas. In Dead-nettles and Ragworts, we have some of our most conspicuous native plants, but what about some of our lesser-known species? Having discovered several species of fleabane close to home in Newcastle this year, I thought it was high time they enjoyed a moment in the sun.

Now, when you think of fleabanes, you might picture the lovely round blooms of Common Fleabane or the daisy-like flowers of Mexican Fleabane. You’d be right to, of course, but what many may not know is that there is a whole other contingent of these plants out there to be discovered. I am of course talking about the small-flowered fleabanes – a group of largely non-naive species which readily adapt to urban habitats.

Identifying Fleabanes

With their diminutive flowers and a tendency to grow in a whole host of grotty places, small-flowered fleabanes are not the most glamourous bunch. That said, they are interesting. Largely because several of them are currently in the process of spreading like wildfire in the UK. In this crib, we’ll look at:

  • Canadian Fleabane
  • Bilbao’s Fleabane
  • Guernsey Fleabane
  • Blue Fleabane
  • Argentine Fleabane
  • Ploughman’s Spikenard
Download the crib

Enjoying this series? Please consider sharing this page with friends or better still, providing a back-link so that more people can find it 🙂

Identifying Dead-nettles

Get started identifying dead-nettles with a brand-new crib suitable for beginner botanists.

Well, our first beginner’s crib to urban ragworts seemed to go down well. Thank you for the kind comments all! Spurred on by your feedback, this week I’ve created another looking a second accessible plant family, and one just as common in our towns and cities.

I have also almost finished a festive entry on Snowdrops and hope to have a crib to small-flowered fleabanes ready soon too. Until then, let’s get started…

Identifying dead-nettles

Colourful and conspicuous, dead-nettles are some of our most familiar wildflowers. Well, at least the 1-2 species commonly spotted in flowerbeds and overgrown gardens, that is. Some dead-nettles, particularly the small red ones, can look surprisingly alike and I wanted our next crib to take a closer look at these lovely little weeds.

Please note, as ever, this focuses on the species likely to be encountered in North East England, as opposed to rarer ones. It includes:

  • Red Dead-nettle
  • Cut-leaved Dead-nettle
  • Henbit Dead-nettle
  • Spotted Dead-nettle
  • White Dead-nettle
  • Both Yellow Archangels
Download the crib

Identifying Ragworts and Groundsels

Get started identifying ragworts and groundsels with a brand-new crib sheet suitable for beginners.

Find keys boring? You’re not alone. While those of us who spend our days obsessively searching for plants quite like them, for most people, they don’t cut the mustard. Indeed, they can be particularly offputting to beginners.

It is for this reason that I wanted to start a new series on this blog – Common’s Cribs, a full series of which will eventually appear here. Hopefully colourful and straightforward, these simple guides include only the species people are likely to encounter during their daily lives, hopefully making the process of identifying a plant easier.

Identifying Ragworts

Yellow, conspicuous, and with an unnecessarily negative reputation, ragworts (and their cousins, the groundsels) are an obvious bunch in our towns and cities. Growing in pavement cracks, as well as weedy areas, they can all look fairly yellow and similar at first but look closer and the differences become clearer.

Download the crib