UEA Ecology Blog

Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) Habitat and Identification The horse chestnut is a very iconic tree found throughout the UK sections of Europe, the bark of a horse chestnut tree is smooth and reddish-grey when it is young, growing scaled plates as it gets older, the twigs of a chestnut tree are short and smooth with…

Horseweed (Erigeron canadensis) Habitat and Identification Horseweed is an annual herbaceous plant from the Asteraceae family, with long slender stems and leaves, with the leaves being 1 to 12 cm long, the leaves are lanceolate in shape and have a fine toothed margin. The leaves grow in an alternating pattern up the stem with the…

Common sunburst lichen (Xanthoria parietina) The common sunburst lichen (Xanthoria parietina) is a lichen forming fungus from the Teloschistaceae family. Discovered by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The lichen itself is made up of small, overlapped lobes that measure less than 10cm across, its color can vary greatly, ranging from vibrant greens to almost reddish orange,…

Common Alder (Alnus glutinosa) Habitat and Identification The common alder is a deciduous hardwood tree, that is native to the UK and areas of Europe, the tree sports dark bark with deep fissures running up the trunk, the twigs normally light brown, and the newer twigs have a spotted red stem. When the twigs are…

Slender Thistle (Cardus tenuiflorus) Habitat and Identification The Slender Thistle is an herbaceous perennial plant from the Asteraceae family. The leaves of the Slender Thistle are lanceolate and a deep vibrant green, they have a glossy finish and spines lining the margins. the stem of the thistle typically grows between 30 and 110cm often standing…

Red Campion (Silene dioica) Habitat and identification Red campion is a distinctive perennial or sometimes biennial plant that is known for its distinctive pink-red flowers. The plant grows in early spring, flowering in may until September, the plant itself bears a tall stem ranging in size from 10cm to up to 60cm, which is covered…

Netted Crust (Byssomerulius corium) Habitat and identification The netted crust (Byssomerulius corium) is a common crust fungus, that can often be found growing on dead deciduous wood, such as birch, oak, beech and alder. The fungus forms a tough white crust that can cover the surface of dead wood sometimes extending past the surface forming…

Jelly Ear (Auricularia auricula-judae) Habitat and Identification The Jelly ear fungus or Auricularia auricula-judae is a bracket fungus commonly found on dead wood and live hardwood like ash and beech, in particular areas that get little sunlight and have a high average moisture level, such as the undersides of tree branches, fallen wood and dead…