littoral

Sharp rush Juncus acutus with leaf tip and nutlet detail

Marram grass Ammophila arenaria with detail of flowering head, ligule and in-rolled leaf

Sand pansy Viola tricolor ssp curtisi showing insubstantial foliage and yellow and white flowers

Reindeer lichen Cladonia rangiformis showing spots of algae growing on the grey branches

Early Marsh Orchid Dactylorhiza incarnata ssp coccinea showing distinctive red flowers and stocky low habit

Close up of one flower showing reflexed sides of labellum and red colour

Portland spurge Euphorbia portlandica with flower fruit seed and leaf underside

With spikelet detail, showing how the upper leaf looks like a continuation of the stem

With stem detail showing swollen red bases of stem hairs

Lesser Hawkbit Leontodon saxatilis with details of pappas types on two different achenes

Dry specimen showing how incurled the moss becomes when not wet

Sand hill screwmoss Wet specimen showing green starry tips against bronze background

Western eyebright Euphrasia tetraquetra with leaf & flower detail

Syntrichia ruraliformis ruraliformis fascicle and leaf with hyaline tip

Sharp rush Juncus acutus with nutlet and inflorescence

Bog pimpernel Anagallis tenella showing sprawling habit

Showing seed, pale pink flowers, woolly blue leaves and a seed

Showing yellow and cream colouration and sprawling, tufted habit  

Rocky shore line ecosystem zonation of species.  Some of the animals and pants featured include whelks, mussels, bladderwrack, star fish, top shells, periwinkles, crabs, branacles, and anenomes.  Illustration from The Hidden Universe: Adventures in Biodiversity by Alexandre Antonelli

Alexanders Smyrnium olusatrum with Puccinia smyrnii rust on some leaves, and detail of one flower and one seed.

Blue mussels Mytilus edulis with byssal threads on wooden piling.  Illustration includes barnacles and limpets, and some bladder wrack seaweed.  Illustration from “30 Animals that made us smarter” by Patrick Ayree (BBC Books).

Yellow horned-poppy Galucium flavum with seed pod

Thrift Armeria maritima with individual flower detail

Spring squill Scilla verna botanical illustration by Lizzie Harper showing large bulb