The common pipistrelle is so small, it can fit into a matchbox! Despite its size, it can easily eat 3,000 insects a night: look for it flitting around the garden or a lit lamp post as it chases…

Common couch is a tall, tuft-forming grass of roadside verges, waste ground and arable land. It is very tough and can shade out more delicate plants. Look for flat, blade-like leaves and thin…

The common dandelion is a most familiar flower: counting down the 'clock', while blowing the fluffy seeds from its head, is a favourite childhood game. Dandelions are an important early…

He loves me, he loves me not' is a familiar rhyme associated with what is probably our most well-known plant: the common daisy. Its white-and-yellow flower heads brighten up lawns, verges and…

Despite popular belief, and its name (from the Old English for 'ear beetle'), the Common earwig will not crawl into your ear while you sleep - it much prefers a nice log or stone pile!…

Common cow-wheat is a delicate annual that brightens up the edges of acid woodland and heaths with deep golden flowers in the summer.

Golden banks of common rock-rose make a spectacular sight on our chalk and limestone grasslands in summer. A creeping shrub, it is good for bees, moths and butterflies.

The dark green, straight and spiky stems of common club-rush or 'bulrush' are a familiar wetland sight. They are ideal for weaving and were traditionally used to make baskets, seats and…

The common green lacewing is a lime green, delicate insect, with translucent, intricately veined wings. It is common in gardens and parks, where it helps to control aphid pests.

A member of the buttercup family, Common water-crowfoot displays white, buttercup-like flowers with yellow centres. It can form mats in ponds, ditches and streams during spring and summer.

Common mouse-ear is a persistent 'weed' of fields and gardens, verges and hedgerows - all kinds of habitats. But, like many of our weed species, it is still a good food source for…