Flowering weeds identification guide
Use this guide to help identify flowering weeds growing your school grounds or out and about.
Learning objectives
- Explore nature in the local environment
- Identify and name common weeds, as well as their colours and shapes
- Develop observational skills
Curriculum links
- Science: Identify common plants, observe seed dispersal, and explore how plants support wildlife
- Geography: Recognise local plant life and understand its role in biodiversity
- Design & Technology: Learn where food comes from and how plant choices impact wildlife
Key vocabulary
Weed | Seed dispersal |
Common flowering weeds
Bittercress
This low-growing plant has small white flowers and attracts moths, butterflies, and hoverflies. Its leaves can even be eaten in salads.
Creeping buttercup
These bright yellow flowers bring a splash of colour to grassy areas and are loved by bees, butterflies, and beetles. They spread quickly, so keep them in check.
Daisy
A familiar sight in lawns and parks, daisies are loved by pollinators, snails, and even rabbits. Many wouldn’t even call them a weed!
Dandelion
With its long flowering season, the dandelion is a great food source for bees and butterflies. Letting them grow can help boost biodiversity.
Forget-me-not
These little blue flowers look lovely in pots and along paths, but they spread easily, which is why some consider them weeds.
Green alkanet
Its vivid blue flowers attract pollinators, but its large, coarse leaves can quickly take over a space if left unchecked.
Groundsel
Clusters of yellow flowers turn into fluffy white seed heads that spread easily by wind. Often found along roadsides and fields.
Hedge bindweed
This climbing plant wraps around fences and other plants. Its white trumpet-shaped flowers are loved by bees, butterflies, and hoverflies.
Oxalis
With its shamrock-shaped leaves and delicate flowers, oxalis often pops up in cracks in concrete. It spreads quickly, so it can become a nuisance.
Poppy
The common poppy’s bright red petals bring colour to grassy spaces and verges. Though beautiful, they can spread easily into unwanted areas.
Red deadnettle
This wildflower has purply-pink tubular flowers that attract bees. Its leaves don’t sting, and some moth caterpillars like to munch on them.
Rosebay willowherb
Its tall pink flowers are popular with pollinators, but each plant produces up to 80,000 seeds, making it a fast spreader!
Scarlet pimpernel
A creeping plant with small leaves and pretty five-petalled flowers, usually orange or red, but sometimes blue. Found in fields and verges.
Shepherd’s purse
This plant’s tiny white flowers grow on thin stems. It spreads easily, but pollinators love the flowers, and small birds enjoy its seeds.
Speedwell
Its tiny blue or purple flowers brighten up wildlife corners and borders while giving food to solitary bees and shelter to soil-dwelling invertebrates.
Spurge
With small green flowers and oval leaves, this plant spreads easily. It has a milky sap that can irritate skin, so always wear gloves to remove.
Top tips
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Use autumn flowers and fruits as the inspiration for art, poetry or photography
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Press autumn flowers found in your school grounds to create a catalogue of herbarium specimens, which can be kept as a library for years to come