Plants with Red or Pink Flowers

Plants with red or pink flowers (especially the latter) can be found in many plant families and are a very diverse bunch in our area. Many small, almost prostrate species, typically flowering in spring or early summer may be found, with the rose, crane's-bill and pea families in particular having many species in this colour group.

It is worth bearing in mind that red (usually produced by anthocyanins) can be a very unstable colour in plants and many pink or red flowers fade to whitish long before their petals eventually wither and fall. In addition, white colour forms of red-flowered species are not that uncommon and can cause confusion.

As well as flower colour, it is important to take careful note of the exact petal shape - are the petals rounded, or do they came to a sharp point, for example; are there gaps between the petals or do they overlap; are the flowers solitary, or arranged in spikes or bunches.

Within the colour sections, the pictures are grouped so that similar-looking (though not necessarily closely-related) plants will be near each other. This should help to reduce your search time. To keep things concise, not all species are shown in the colour keys, so you may have to go for a 'best match' to get you through to the next stage of the identification process. Particularly in large families where there are a number of very similar species, a representative species is shown here, but clicking on it will take you to a page that tells you how to tell the more difficult species apart.

Many plants will be obviously one colour or another, obviously five petalled, or obviously a woody shrub, etcetera. But many will be debatable. In such cases, I have tried to imagine how a flower might be perceived by others, especially beginners to plant identification. Generally this results in a plant appearing in more than one place on these pages, but some still remain problematic. In particular, the section labelled 'tubular flowers' contains a variety of flowers that might be considered to fall into that category and these generally have petals that are fused together to fully surround the sexual parts of the flower. But these tubes might be elongate like a pencil, or broad and bell-like. Flowers of two colours are entered under the colour that covers most of the flower, but truly bicoloured flowers may be entered under both colours. Woody plants with green stems that might not be considered woody, are entered under their flower colour or shape, as well as under the woody plants sections.

If you still can't find your plant, you either have something very interesting that you may wish to tell me about, or I just haven't got a picture of it yet - I'm still working on the latter!!

Click on the pictures below to go to the species pages.



No Petals
Salad Burnet Salad Burnet Greater Burnet Lesser Meadow-rue
Burnets - Tight heads of flowers like little 'drumsticks' above compound leaves

Burnets - Tight heads of flowers like little 'drumsticks' above compound leaves

Burnets - Tight heads of flowers like little 'drumsticks' above compound leaves

Meadow-rues - Fine, open heads of many petalless flowers, which may appear reddish due to the coloured sepals

Pellitory-of-the-wall Yorkshire-fog Sweet Corn Common Sorrel
Pellitory-of-the-wall - Masses of tiny red/green, petalless flowers with white tips, crowded at the leaf bases. On walls, cracks in pavement and similar places

Grasses - Pinkish-tinged, petalless florets on slender stems above grassy leaves

Sweet Corn - Pink 'powder-puff' from the top of a solid tube. Plant grown as a field crop, or occasionally appearing as a weed of disturbed ground

Docks & Sorrels - Small, pendant flowers in branched flower spikes

Common Water-purslane Mare's-tail
Common Water-purslane - Tiny (hand lens!) flowers in the leaf axils on succulent stems, growing on bare mud close to water

Mare's-tail - Tiny (hand lens!) flowers in whorled leaf axils on succulent stems, growing in water or water-logged ground



Three Petals
Narrow-leaved Water-plantain Bearded Iris Heath Milkwort
Water-plantains - Tiny flowers in a spreading, open head, growing from water or very wet ground

Irises - Three large, rounded petals hanging down, plus three smaller, less obvious petals standing upright in the centre

Milkworts - Small spikes of white, pink or blue flowers, each with the middle petal rolled into a thin tube and with a tiny, pale beard



Four Petals
Common Poppy Prickly Poppy Opium Poppy Opium Poppy
Poppies - Four broadly overlapping petals

Poppies - Four non-overlapping petals

Poppies - Four broadly overlapping petals in a range of pink/lilac shades with dark blotch at base

Poppies - Four broadly overlapping petals in a range of dark shades with dark blotch at base

Aubretia Cuckoo-flower Himalayan Clematis Rosebay Willowherb
Aubretia - Low-growing plants, often trailing from walls

Cuckoo-flower - Pale pink flowers in open heads, followed by prominent seed pods

Clematis - Spring-flowering, vigorous, woody climbers

Rosebay Willowherb - Colonies of tall spikes of four-petalled flowers

Japanese Aucuba Short-fruited Willowherb Field Madder Squinancywort
Japanese Aucuba - Flowers in open or tight clusters on evergreen bushes

Willowherbs - Petals notched at the tip; flowers with long, narrow bases, elongating even more in fruit

Field Madder - Pinkish-purple flowers in small clusters

Squinancywort - Flowers in small bundles, with recurved petals; in limestone grassland

Annual Honesty Common Radish Heath Speedwell Procumbent Pearlwort
Cabbage Family - Pinkish-purple flowers in open heads, followed by prominent seed pods

Cabbage Family - Pinkish-purple flowers with darker veins

Speedwells - Pale pink flowers with the lower petal smaller than the other three

Pearlworts - Tiny, petalless flowers with reddish sepals, on creeping, moss-like plants

Farewell-to-spring Elegant Clarkia
Clarkias - Upright annuals, the flowers with striped petals and a long, tubular base that becomes the seedpod later

Clarkias - Upright annuals, the flowers with narrow-based petals and a long, tubular base that becomes the seedpod later



Five Petals
Common Hollyhock Common Hollyhock Rose Campion Bloody Crane's-bill
Hollyhocks - Large, rounded flowers in a very tall spike

Hollyhocks - Large, rounded flowers in a very tall spike

Campions - Broad, shallowly notched petals on very furry plants

Crane's-bills - Slightly notched petals, above rounded and deeply notched leaves

Common Purslane Coralbells Pink Purslane Druce's Crane's-bill
Common Purslane - Small, rose-like flowers on succulent, creeping plants

Coralbells - Lobes leaves in a basal rosette with many small flowers in an upright spike

Pink Purslane - Bright, shiny spring flowers on succulent plants

Crane's-bills - Low herbaceous plants with palmate leaves, flowers with very narrow petals

Musk Mallow Tree Mallow Hedgerow Crane's-bill Pencilled Crane's-bill
Mallows - Flowers with prominent, central spike of stamens

Mallows - Flowers with prominent, central spike of stamens

Crane's-bills - Notched petals, above rounded and deeply notched leaves

Crane's-bills - Slightly notched petals, above rounded and deeply notched leaves

Red Campion Common Primrose Red-maids Maiden Pink
Campions - Broad, deeply notched petals

Primroses - Deep pink flowers with a yellow centre, arising from the centre of a rosette of leaves

Red-maids - Brilliant cerise flowers above narrow, slightly fleshy leaves

Maiden Pink - Petals with ragged edges and darker markings at the centre

Wood Forget-me-not Duke of Argyll's Teaplant Common Stork's-bill Scarlet Pimpernel
Forget-me-nots - Brightly-coloured spring flowers; usually blue

Teaplants - Solitary, purplish flowers on wiry, half-woody stems in hedgerows

Stork's-bills - Bright pink flowers above flattened rosettes of pinnate leaves

Scarlet Pimpernel - Low plants of bare and disturbed ground

Common Corncockle Dusky Crane's-bill Cut-leaved Crane's-bill Rock Crane's-bill
Common Corncockle - Notched petals, backed with long, pointed sepals that are longer than the petals

Crane's-bills - Maroon flowers above rounded and deeply notched leaves

Crane's-bills - Bright pink flowers above rounded and deeply notched leaves

Crane's-bills - Pink or white flowers above rounded and deeply notched leaves

Common Pink-sorrel Hybrid Mossy Saxifrage Sea Milkwort Water-violet
Pink-sorrels - Showy flowers above spreading patches of trifoliate leaves

Saxifrages - Showy flowers above moss-like, fleshy leaves

Sea Milkwort - Low stems with fleshy leaves, in coastal habitats

Water-violet - Flowers in whorled clusters on an upright stem, growing from open water

Common Centaury Common Dodder Purple Loosestrife Grass-poly
Common Centaury - Bright pink flowers in flat-topped heads on low plants

Common Dodder - Pale pink flowers on leafless, twining stems, trailing over other plants

Purple Loosestrife - Tall, slender spikes of many, narrow-petalled flowers; leaves narrow

Grass-poly - Small flowers, solitary in the leaf axils; rare

Sea-heath Bog Pimpernel Shining Crane's-bill Borage
Sea-heath - Creeping, ground-hugging plants; uncommon in coastal habitats

Bog Pimpernel - 'Pin-striped' flowers on plants forming low mats in acid bogs

Crane's-bills - Bright pink flowers above rounded and notched leaves

Borage - Star-shaped, nodding flowers on bristly plants; flowers usually blue

Proliferous Pink Lesser Sea Spurrey Sand Catchfly Fairy Foxglove
Proliferous Pink - Individual flowers open one at a time from a swollen base enclosing several buds

Spurreys - Low plants with fleshy, needle-like leaves. In sandy or coastal habitats

Catchflys - Narrow, notched petals

Fairy Foxglove - Five irregular-shaped petals on small plants growing from walls; rare

Ragged Robin English Stonecrop Marsh Cinquefoil Common Pheasant's-eye
Ragged Robin - Petals very deeply cut and ragged

Stonecrops - Flowers in heads with long, obvious stamens, above very fleshy leaves

Marsh Cinquefoil - Dull, dirty red flowers, often misshapen; wet areas

Pheasant's-eyes - Brilliant red flowers above fine, feathery leaves; disturbed ground, very rare

Red Tobacco Red Bistort Paniculate Phlox Hybrid Zonal Pelargonium
Bedding Tobacco - Petals fused into a narrow tube at the base, in small clusters atop stickily-hairy stems

Red Bistort - Spikes of five-petalled flowers held well above the leaves

Phlox - Showy flowers in shades of red, pink, purple and white, in late summer

Pelargoniums - Stiff-stemmed, succulent plants with coloured leaves and rich red, pink or white flowers

Common Hound's-tongue Common Heather Common Columbine Water Avens
Common Hound's-tongue - Deep maroon-red flowers in unfurling clusters

Common Heather - Five-petalled flowers in showy spikes in late summer, on low, wiry subshrubs, often carpetting the ground on acid heaths

Columbines - Complicated flowers with five petals and five petal-like sepals; petals have long nectar spurs at back

Water Avens - Dull, nodding flowers; wet, shady areas

Caucasian Crosswort Common Sowbread Japanese Cowslip Common Primrose
Caucasian Crosswort - Flowers in rounded clusters at the ends of trailing stems with linear leaves in whorls of 6-9

Cyclamens and sowbreads - Petals reflexed back on themselves, often appearing above ground without the leaves

Cowslips - Flowers in a series of tiers or whorls around an upright stem. Large leaves with crinkled surfaces

Primroses - Early spring flowers in wooded and grassy areas

Maltese-Cross Crimson Flax Honey Spurge Manescau's Stork's-bill
Maltese-Cross - Rich scarlet flowers in a head at the top of upright, coarsely hairy stems

Crimson Flax - Slender-stemmed plants with narrow leaves and large flowers at the tops of the stems

Spurges - Shrub-like plants with lush leaves and large, rounded clusters of reddish-brown flowers and milky sap

Stork's-bills - Escaping garden ornamental with petals bearing reddish blotches

Pick-a-back-plant
Pick-a-back-plant - Flowers in slender spikes, each with greatly reduced, spike-like petals



Six Petals
Hybrid Japanese Anemone Gesner's Tulip Eastern Gladiolus Flowering-rush
Anemones - Petal-like sepals vary in number, up to 30! Late summer/autumn flowering

Tulips - Bright and showy spring flowers, from bulbs

Gladioli - Six petals free at the top but forming a tube-like flower; several flowers carried in a one-sided, upright spike

Flowering-rush - Showy head of flowers above twisted, grass-like leaves. In water or wet ground

Peruvian Lily Greig's Tulip Cretan Tulip Black Ophiopogon
Lilies - Clusters of flowers marked with dark streaks

Tulips - Spring flowering from bulbs, flowers single atop a slender stem

Tulips - Spring flowering from bulbs, flowers single atop a slender stem

Black Ophiopogon - Small clusters of purple and white flowers carried above black, strap-like leaves

Meadow Saffron Forbes's Glory-of-the-snow Bog Pimpernel Dog's-tooth Violet
Meadow Saffron - Flowers fused into a narrow tube at the base and with six orange stamens in the centre

Glory-of-the-snow - Usually blue but sometimes pink flowers in a loose spike in early spring

Bog Pimpernel - 'Pin-striped' flowers on plants forming low mats in acid bogs

Dog's-tooth Violet - Petals reflexed backwards; flowers singly on slender stem above dark-spotted leaves

Common Hyacinth Bowden's Lily Powell's Cape-lily Martagon Lily
Hyacinths - Heavily-scented, six-petalled flowers in a compact spike

Bowden's Lily - A cluster of flowers on a bare stem, arising from the ground with no leaves

Lilies - A cluster of flowers on a bare stem, arising from the ground with strap-shaped leaves

Lilies - Petals reflexed, exposing long stamens; flowers alternate on a tall, open stem

Bearded Iris Marsh Helleborine Common Bee Orchid Rosy Garlic
Irises - Three large, rounded petals hanging down, plus three smaller, less obvious petals standing upright in the centre

Marsh Helleborine - Flowers various shades of greenish-red, pink and white in an open spike; rare in wet ground

Common Bee Orchid - Unique, pink, green and maroon flowers in short spikes; grassy areas

Onions & Garlics - Rounded heads of six-petalled flowers, atop long, upright stalks



More Than Six Petals
Brachyscome Mexican Cosmos Salsify Common Columbine
Aster family - Flowers with many outer petals and yellow centres

Aster family - Flowers with many outer petals and yellow centres; shades of red, pink or white

Salsify - Purplish-pink flowers backed with elongated, lance-shaped sepals

Columbines - Complicated flowers with five petals and five petal-like sepals; petals have long nectar spurs at back

Cobweb Houseleek Common Soapwort Opium Poppy Rose-moss
Houseleeks - Eight or more-petalled flowers on succulent stems above a rosette of fleshy leaves. Usually on walls or roofs

Common Soapwort - Double-flowered form

Poppies - Double-flowered forms; flowers nodding in bud, followed by prominent seed capsules

Ross-moss - Pompom flowers on creeping plants with succulent, needle-like leaves

European Peony Common Columbine Tricolour Chrysanthemum Garden Dahlia
Peonies - Large, showy flowers with floppy, broadly overlapping petals

Columbines - Flowers like little pompoms in branched heads above hairless, three-parted leaves

Tricolour Chrysanthemum - Showy daisy flowers with bands of different colours on the petals and deeply cut leaves

Garden Dahlia - Showy daisy flowers with ornamental petals and pinnate, coarsely-toothed leaves

Cape Daisy Cape Daisy
Cape Daisy - Large, showy flowers, the petals with darker undersides

Cape Daisy Hybrids - Large, showy flowers, the petals with darker undersides



Many-rayed Flowers
Seaside Fleabane Angular Sea-fig New England Aster Tricolour Chrysanthemum
Fleabanes - Daisy-like flowers with pink petals

Dewplants
& Sea-figs
- Plants with thick, fleshy leaves, trailing on the ground or over walls

Asters & Daisies - Daisy-like flowers with pink petals

Tricolour Chrysanthemum - Showy daisy flowers with bands of different colours on the petals and deeply cut leaves

Slender Knapweed Greater Burdock Strawflower Strawflower
Knapweeds - Tight flowerheads with solid bases and 'fluffy' tops

Burdocks - Tight flowerheads with prickly bases and 'fluffy' tops

Strawflower - Daisy-like flowerheads with stiff, straw-like 'petals' in a wide variety of colours

Strawflower - Daisy-like flowerheads with stiff, straw-like 'petals' in a wide variety of colours



Tubular Flowers (petals fused into a broad or narrow, tube-like form)
Meadow Saffron Marvel-of-Peru Field Bindweed Eastern Gladiolus
Meadow Saffron - Six petals free at the top but fused into a narrow tube at the base

Marvel-of-Peru - Flowers of yellow, orange, pink or red with narrow, tubular base, opening at night

Bindweeds - Showy, trumpet flowers on twining/sprawling stems

Gladioli - Six petals free at the top but forming a tube-like flower; several flowers carried in a one-sided, upright spike

Powell's Cape-lily Indian Balsam Cowberry Common Wintergreen
Lilies - A cluster of flowers on a bare stem, arising from the ground with strap-shaped leaves

Balsams - Delicate, hanging flowers with long nectar spur at back

Heath Family - Low subshrubs with small, evergreen leaves and flowers in small clusters

Wintergreens - Small plants with a rosette of basal leaves and a single spike of globular flowers

Deadly Nightshade Common Foxglove Hybrid Cape Figwort Snake's-head Fritillary
Deadly Nightshade - Dark maroon, bell-shaped flowers on bushy stems

Foxgloves - Impressive tall spikes of drooping, funnel-shaped flowers, spotted on the inside

Cape Figworts - Clusters of hanging flowers on more or less woody stems

Snake's-head
Fritillary
- Six petals fused into a bell shape

Cross-leaved Heath Spring Heath Shallon Common Bilberry
Heaths - Small bunches of nodding flowers, usually in wet heathland

Heaths - Showy clusters of hanging flowers with dark stamens; plants with needle-like leaves

Heath Family - Hanging pink or pinkish-white, urn-shaped flowers, usually on woody or twiggy plants

Heath Family - Low shrubs with wiry stems

Hollow-root Common Fumitory Common Vetch Gesner's Tulip
Fumitories - Flowers in loose spikes, arising from a bulbous root in spring

Fumitories - Flowers in loose spikes above ferny foliage; scrambling or trailing on disturbed ground

Peas & Vetches - Flowers solitary or in small clusters, on plants with trifoliate or ladder-like leaves

Tulips - Flask-shaped spring flowers with six, overlapping petals

Common Hound's-tongue Hidcote Comfrey Creeping Comfrey Common Snapdragon
Common Hound's-tongue - Deep maroon-red flowers in unfurling clusters

Comfreys - Pink flowers in curling clusters

Comfreys - Red buds turn white as the flowers open

Snapdragons - Bright clusters of tubular, two-lipped flowers; any shade of red, pink, orange, yellow or white

Common Lungwort Spineless Bear's-breech Wall Germander Marsh Woundwort
Lungworts - Flowers open red and turn blue as they age; leaves bristly hairy, often spotted

Bear's-breeches - Large, upright spikes of showy, two-coloured flowers

Germanders - Flowers tubular at the base, opening to a large, rounded lower lip, but no upper lip to the flower, leaving the stamens exposed

Dead-nettle Family - Flowers with a tubular base, opening to broadly five-lipped mouths

Weasel's-snout Red Bartsia Ivy Broomrape Annual Toadflax
Snapdragons - Tubular flowers with broadened lips forming a two-lobed 'mouth'

Bartsias - Narrowly tubular flowers with a broadened lower lip

Broomrapes - Narrowly tubular flowers in a spike, arising straight from the ground with no leaves or stems

Toadflaxes - Narrow flowers with long spurs at the back, in upright spikes

Marsh Lousewort Common Figwort Crested Cow-wheat Sharp-leaved Fluellen
Louseworts - Tubular flowers with a narrow upper lip and broad lower lip

Figworts - Small flowers on tall stems, maroon, shading to greenish-yellow

Cow-wheats - Purple bracts surrounding tubular flowers

Fluellens - Small, tubular-based flowers with a two-lipped mouth; maroon and yellow

New Zealand Flax Caucasian Crosswort Common Tongue Orchid Cape-jewels
New Zealand Flaxes - Flowers with protruding stamens, carried in clusters on tall, branching spikes above long, sword-shaped leaves

Caucasian Crosswort - Flowers in rounded clusters at the ends of trailing stems with linear leaves in whorls of 6-9

Tongue Orchids - Strange, tubular-based flowers with a long, tongue-like, protruding lower lip with typically 2-8 flowers on a stem

Cape-jewels - Brightly coloured annuals in a variety of colours with a blunt spur at the back of the flower

Annual Clary
Pink claries - Narrow, tubular-based flowers opening into a two-lipped mouth



Many-flowered Heads
Velvet Bent Yorkshire-fog Honey Garlic Flowering-rush
Grasses - An open mass of petalless, pink or red-tinted florets

Grasses - Pinkish-tinged, petalless florets on slender stems above grassy leaves

Honey Garlic - Nodding, bell-shaped, greenish flowers with varying amounts of reddish maroon colouring. On a tall stem from a bulb

Flowering-rush - Showy head of flowers above twisted, grass-like leaves. In water or wet ground

Hybrid Vervain Indian-rhubarb Bergenia Common Thrift
Vervains - Low, clustered heads of five-petalled flowers; any shade of red, purple, pink or white

Indian-rhubarb - Rounded, compact heads of five-petalled flowers, appearing before the leaves

Bergenias - Rounded, compact heads of five-petalled flowers; low, evergreen or herbacous plants

Common Thrift - Five-petalled flowers on a single stalk like a drumstick; coastal habitats

Sand Leek Cultivated Onion Bowden's Lily Indian Pokeweed
Onions & Garlics - Rounded, compact heads of six-petalled flowers, atop long, upright stalks

Onions & Garlics - Rounded, compact heads of six-petalled flowers, atop long, upright stalks

Lilies - A cluster of flowers on a bare stem, arising from the ground with no leaves

Pokeweeds - Tall, branching perennials with flowers crowded in sturdy, upright spikes

Macedonian Scabious Chives Greater Masterwort Red Clover
Scabiouses - Tight heads of many flowers, with the outer flowers having larger petals

Chives - A tight head of six-petalled flowers above grassy foliage

Masterworts - Many petal-like bracts around a head of many small flowers clustered in the centre

Clovers - Dense, rounded heads of narrow, tubular flowers; trifoliate leaves

Hare's-foot Clover Knotted Clover Pellitory-of-the-wall Marsh Valerian
Clovers - Narrow, tubular flowers in a tight, rounded head on hairy plants with trifoliate leaves

Clovers - Narrow, tubular flowers in a tight, rounded head on creeping plants with trifoliate leaves

Pellitory-of-the-wall - Masses of tiny red/green, petalless flowers with white tips, crowded at the leaf bases. On walls, cracks in pavement etc.

Valerians - Many flowers in rounded or flattened heads on upright flower spikes; often in wet ground

Butterfly Stonecrop Hemp-agrimony Yarrow Yarrow
Stonecrops - Small flowers in large, flat or rounded heads above very fleshy leaves and stems

Hemp-agrimony - Large, 'fluffy' heads of small flowers on tall, leafy stems; usually in damp ground

Yarrow - Showy, flattened heads in grassy places; feathery leaves

Yarrow - Showy, flattened heads in grassy places; feathery leaves

Dwarf Elder Winter Heliotrope Marsh Thistle Wild Marjoram
Elders - Flat, showy heads of many small flowers, above compound leaves

Heliotropes & Butterburs - Untidy heads of narrow flowers, usually appearing in winter or early spring, before the leaves

Thistles - Flowerheads clustered together to form tight bundles of scales with 'fluffy' tops

Mint Family - Clusters of bright pink flowers on plants with heavily sacented foliage

Corn Mint Wild Basil Red Valerian Common Dodder
Mint family - Clusters of tubular flowers, opening to a broad, four-lipped mouth; in whorls at the leaf bases

Mint family - Clusters of tubular flowers, opening to a broad, five-lipped mouth; in whorls at the leaf bases

Red Valerian - Large, tiered heads of small flowers with long spurs at the back; often in colonies of mixed pink, red and white-flowered plants

Common Dodder - Pale pink flowers on leafless, twining stems, trailing over other plants

Common Heather Common Centaury Red Bistort Common Sorrel
Common Heather - Five-petalled flowers in showy spikes in late summer, on low, wiry subshrubs, often carpetting the ground on acid heaths

Common Centaury - Bright pink flowers in flat-topped heads on low plants

Red Bistort - Spikes of five-petalled flowers held well above the leaves

Common Sorrel - Small flowers with greenish red petal-like tepals, in a spreading, leafless spike

Sweet-william Various-leaved Everlasting-pea Common Sainfoin Common Snapdragon
Pinks - Petals with ragged edges and darker markings at the centre

Peas and Vetches - Relatively large, 'blousy' flowers on trailing or scrambling plants with tendrils

Peas and Vetches - Loose, open spikes of 'winged' flowers

Snapdragons - Bright clusters of tubular, two-lipped flowers; any shade of red, pink, orange, yellow or white

Lupin Hybrids Common Foxglove Eastern Gladiolus Ivy Broomrape
Lupins - Tall, showy spikes of 'pea' flowers, often in a variety of colours

Common Foxglove - Impressive tall spikes of drooping, funnel-shaped flowers, spotted on the inside

Gladioli - Six petals free at the top but forming a tube-like flower; several flowers carried in a one-sided, upright spike

Broomrapes - Narrowly tubular flowers in a spike, arising straight from the ground with no leaves or stems

Early Marsh Orchid Hollow-root Common Fumitory Marsh Helleborine
Orchids - Dense spikes of 'winged' flowers

Fumitories - Spikes of tubular flowers, arising from a bulbous root in spring

Fumitories - Tubular flowers in loose spikes above ferny foliage; scrambling or trailing on disturbed ground

Marsh Helleborine - Flowers various shades of greenish-red, pink and white in an open spike; rare in wet ground

Lizard Orchid Early Purple Orchid Common Hyacinth Amphibious Bistort
Lizard Orchid - Strange reddish/green flowers with elongated 'tails'; in a loose spike. Very rare

Orchids - Loose, open spikes of 'winged' flowers

Hyacinths - Heavily-scented, six-petalled flowers in a compact spike

Persicaries & Bistorts - Dense spikes of pink or white flowers; may be upright or arching

Rosebay Willowherb Purple Loosestrife Confused Bridewort Pyramidal Orchid
Rosebay Willowherb - Colonies of tall spikes of four-petalled flowers

Loosestrifes - Tall, slender spikes of many, narrow-petalled flowers; leaves narrow

Spiraeas - Showy spikes of tiny flowers, above a thicket of slender woody stems

Orchids - Dense spikes of 'winged' flowers

Spear Mint Spineless Bear's-breech Hoary Plantain Common Butterbur
Mint family - Clusters of tubular flowers, opening to a broad, four-lipped mouth; in whorls at the leaf bases

Bear's-breeches - Large, upright spikes of showy, two-coloured flowers

Plantains - Many flowers in narrow, upright spikes above flat rosettes of leaves; usually in short grass

Heliotropes and butterburs - Cylindrical spikes with tufts of densely packed flowers, arising directly from the ground before the leaves appear

Devil's-bit Scabious Common Valerian Caucasian Crosswort Common Spotted Orchid
Scabiouses - Tight heads of many flowers, with the outer flowers having larger petals

Valerians - Tiny, five-petalled flowers in dense, flat or rounded heads - similar to elder but not woody shrubs

Caucasian Crosswort - Flowers in rounded clusters at the ends of trailing stems with linear leaves in whorls of 6-9

Orchids - Dense, columnar or pointed spikes of pink flowers with darker spots on an enlarged, lower lip (labellum)

Sinuate Statice Honey Spurge
Statice - Branched heads of many, small (white) flowers surrounded by large, petal-like, coloured bracts

Spurges - Shrub-like plants with lush leaves and large, rounded clusters of reddish-brown flowers and milky sap



Woody Trees, Shrubs & Climbers
Hybrid Black Poplar Creeping Willow Wych Elm Common Tamarisk
Poplars - Pendulous 'catkins' of petalless flowers with large red stamens

Willows - Dense heads on bare twigs in spring

Elms - Clusters of reddish, petalless florets on bare twigs in spring

Tamarisks - Masses of slender flower clusters smothering twiggy branches

Japanese Aucuba Himalayan Clematis Common Broom Common Gooseberry
Japanese Aucuba - Flowers in open or tight clusters on evergreen bushes

Clematis - Spring-flowering, vigorous, woody climbers

Brooms - Broad petals, the upper one the largest, the lower two fused to form a boat-shaped 'keel', on wiry, green-stemmed plants

Currants - Red-tinged, solitary, greenish flowers on low, woody plants

Wall Cotoneaster Common Snowberry Cherry Plum Dog Rose
Cotoneasters - Small, five-petalled flowers that barely open, on low bushes with small, tough leaves

Snowberries - Small clusters of small, five-petalled flowers on the ends of branches with rounded leaves; suckering shrubs

Rose Family - Five-petalled flowers with prominent stamens on woody trees and shrubs

Rose Family - Five-petalled flowers with prominent stamens on spiny shrubs or scrambling plants

Duke of Argyll's Teaplant Cheal's Weeping Cherry Common Hawthorn Weigela
Teaplants - Solitary, purplish flowers on wiry, half-woody stems in hedgerows

Cherries - Spring-flowering trees with 'pompom' flowers bearing many petals

Rose Family - Bunches of five-petalled flowers with many stamens at the centre

Weigela - Bunches of showy, five-petalled flowers that are tubular at the base

Bodnant Viburnum Common Lilac Flowering Currant Confused Bridewort
Viburnums - Tubular flowers in showy clusters, heavily scented and emerging in winter/early spring, before the leaves

Lilacs - Large, showy heads of four-petalled flowers on suckering large shrubs or small trees. Flowers varying colours of purple, red, pink or white

Flowering Currant - Drooping clusters of brilliant pink/red flowers on multi-stemmed bushes in spring

Spiraeas - Showy spikes of tiny flowers, above a thicket of slender woody stems

Horse Chestnut Horse Chestnut Shallon Hybrid Cape Figwort
Horse Chestnuts - Tall, candelabra flowers on large trees with fingered leaves

Horse Chestnuts - Tall, candelabra flowers on large trees with fingered leaves

Heath Family - Hanging pink or pinkish-white, urn-shaped flowers, usually on woody or twiggy plants

Cape Figworts - Clusters of hanging flowers on more or less woody stems

Magellanic Fuchsia Tartarian Honeysuckle Common Honeysuckle Mezereon
Fuchsias - Hanging flowers with very long stamens; various shades of red or pink with purple or white

Honeysuckles - Five narrow petals with prominent stamens

Honeysuckles - Spidery flowers pink in bud, opening yellowish-white, on twining climbers

Mezereon - Highly scented flowers on bare stems before the leaves in late winter or early spring

Hybrid Rhododendron Bodnant Viburnum Escallonia Escallonia
Rhododendrons - Spreading, evergreens with large, leathery leaves and tight clusters of large, showy flowers

Viburnums - Tubular flowers in showy clusters, heavily scented and emerging in winter/early spring, before the leaves

Escallonias - Evergreen shrubs with bunched heads of flowers in various shades of pink

Escallonias - Evergreen shrubs with bunched heads of flowers in various shades of pink

Common Snowberry Common Snowberry Kohuhu Pink Rock-roses
Honeysuckle Family - Low, suckering bushes with opposite, rounded leaves and tiny flowers in tight clusters at the tips of the branches

Honeysuckle Family - Low, suckering bushes with opposite, rounded leaves and tiny flowers in tight clusters at the tips of the branches

Pittosporums - Evegreen shrubs with shiny leaves and thin, wiry stems

Pink Rock-roses - Evegreen shrubs with hairy leaves and flowers with tissue-like, crumpled petals

Japanese Camellia Japanese Camellia
Japanese Camellia - Evergreen bushes with leathery leaves and large, showy flowers in red, white or pink

Japanese Camellia - Evergreen bushes with leathery leaves and large, showy flowers in red, white or pink