Ulex europaeus: Common Gorse

This evergreen shrub was found in a small car park in Plattfileds Park. They grow up to 2m and have grooved spines up to 25mm long. Normally found on heaths and grassy places and favour acid soils but common and widespread throughout the UK. Gorse is a very hardy plant that is also considered invasive as it can outgrow native plants. 

The flowers are 2cm long, bright yellow and have of a coconut scent and 4-5mm long bascal bracts in January-December. They have hairy pods and the leaves are trifoliate meaning they have 3 leaflets. 

Rhododendron ponticum: Rhododendron

An ornamental evergreen shrub native to Asia and SE Europe but planted widely around the UK. This one is along a pathway in Plattfields Park. They can grow up to 5m tall and favour acid, damp soils. It has an invasive habit and ability to overgrow native species so is often maintained. This one may have self seeded due to the scruffy look with other plants growing through it such as a young Sorbus.

The branches are dense and become heavily tangled with shiny, leathery, elliptical dark green leaves. They have dry capsules that contain numerous flat seeds.

The flowers are 4-6cm long in a bell shape with a pinkish red colour. They grow in clusters and flower in May-June. These are the buds before they open.

The bark is reddish and scaly.

Urtica dioica: Common Nettle

Known widely as Stinging Nettle due to its sting to prevent animals from trying to eat it. A very widespread and common plant that grows best on nitrogen enriched and disturbed soils. These nettles are in an open field and stand out in clumps as they are one of the few thing the rabbits won't chew. they can grow up to 1m tall but are often managed and cut back.

It's leaves are oval with pointed tips and toothed margins. They are in opposite pairs and grow to 8cms long. They have pendulous catkins during June-September. Their fruits resemble flowers.

Cotoneaster horizontalis: Wall Contoneaster

A stiff shrub with dividing branches that spreads in a flat plane. It is deciduous but leaves appear very early. Widely grown in gardens like this one, growing up the front of someone's house but occasionally naturalised, mainly on calcareous soils. They grow to a height of roughly 1m with a spread of 3m. They are a common plant often chosen for their hardiness and low cost.  

They have bright red spherical berries and solitary, pink flowers come out in May-June. The glossy leaves are 5-10mm long.

Salix fragilis: Crack Willow

I found this large mature crack willow in Ivel springs next to a small stream where I spent a lot of my childhood playing in the woods. It has a broadly domed crown and a thick bole with a large base. The branches are arising from low down near the base.

The bark is dull grey-brown covered with with interlocking crisscrossed ridges. The shoots are dull reddish brown, becoming brighter in early spring as leaves emerge. Leaves are long and glossy with toothed margins and have short green petioles.

This willow has recently dropped a large branch which has formed a makeshift bridge across the river. Perfect for me as a child. Crack Willows often drop branches or small twigs that can be carried along by a river and if they lodge into a bank will root and can form another tree. Often river banks will be lined with same sex trees all derived from pieces of the same tree.  

It has a small Sambucus shrub growing at the base along with Urtica dioica. It also seems to have some form of moss growing around the bottom of the base.

This is another Crack Willow located nearby. This has an unusual shape to the base and looks as if it has grown out of fallen branches forming this root like feature.

Ligustrum ovalifolium: Garden Privet

A much-branched, evergreen spreading shrub. It is seen as a very common hedging shrub found in many front gardens, such as this young specimen. They grow to about 3m heigh and it will take roughly 5-6 years before these shrubs will act as a tall screening hedge.

The branches are dense much divided with downy young twigs. They have creamy white, fragrant, 4 petalled flowers during May- June and shiny, round, poisonous fruits that become black and ripe in autumn and grow in clusters.   

The bark is reddy brown with vertical scar like gashes. The leaves are rounded-oval and are good food for larvae.

Prunus laurocerasus: Cherry Laurel

This is an small evergreen tree or in this case a shrub in my garden. Laurels are often planted as an ornamental species. They produce suckers freely and self seeds so often spreads out to produce dense thickets. 

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The leaves are leathery and oblong with a short-pointed tip and rounded tapering base. They grow to 20cm long and 6cm wide. They have very small teeth at intervals. The leaves also contain cyanide.

The bark is dark greyish brown, with many lenticles. The branches are dense with smooth pale green twigs. 

They grow fragrant white flowers about 13cm long fruits that turn from green to red to black.