Identification guides and resources

The following resources will help you identify some of the common British plants and animals.

Plants and fungi

Trees

Tree guide (PDF, 2.8MB)

Part of the OPAL air survey.

Tree ID poster (PDF, 2.4MB)

Part of the OPAL tree health survey.

Hedgerow plants

Hedgerow guide (PDF, 3.4MB)

An illustrated guide to common hedgerow plants.

Part of the OPAL biodiversity survey.

Duckweeds

Duckweed guide (PDF 264KB)

You'll find duckweeds floating on the surface of many ponds and lakes. Discover the six most common species.

Part of the OPAL water survey.

Seaweeds

Seaweed guide (PDF, 2MB)

An illustrated guide to the common seaweeds you can find on the British coast.

Part of the Big Seaweed Search.

Orchids

Bee Orchid

Bee Orchids (PDF, 915KB)

Discover Bee Orchids and their relatives, and help NHM scientists track the spread of this species.

Ferns

Hart's-tongue

Urban ferns (PDF, 2.16MB)

A guide to eight common wall ferns that can be found in British towns and cities.

Lichens

Lichens guide (PDF, 2.2MB)

A simple guide to nine common lichens.

Part of the OPAL air survey.

Advanced lichen key on the Key to Nature website

Orchard lichens and mosses

Orchard lichens (PDF 13MB)

Orchard mosses (PDF 11.7MB)

Guides to the lichens and mosses commonly found in orchards, especially in the East of England.

Surveying orchard biodiversity (PDF, 466KB)

Minibeasts

Dragonflies and damselflies

Dragonfly guide (PDF, 311KB)

A guide to the most common dragonflies and damselflies.

Part of the OPAL water survey.

Earthworms

Earthworm key (PDF, 621KB)

A simple illustrated key to nine common British earthworms.

Part of the soil and earthworm survey.

Aquatic invertebrates

(PDF, 179MB)

Water boatman or water beetle? Identify aquatic invertebrates living in your pond.

Part of the OPAL water survey.

House spiders

Zebra jumping spider

Spiders in your home guide

(PDF, 1.4MB)

Get to know the different species that share our living spaces.

Moths

Moth Tips 1 (PDF, 2.65MB) - tips on how to trap moths and useful tools available to identify them

Moth Tips 2 (PDF, 4.8MB) - a guide to common species of British moths

Moth Tips 3 (PDF, 3.25MB) - a guide to identifying micro-moth families

Common invertebrates

Illustrated guide to invertebrate groups (PDF, 935KB) - part of the OPAL biodiversity survey

Pocket invertebrate guide (PDF, 935KB) - includes facts and ID tips. Part of the Bugs Count survey.

Natural History Museum bug forum - explore images of common creepy crawlies

Other

Amphibians

Amphibians (PDF, 434KB)

Know your frogs from your toads with this guide to common amphibians.

Part of the OPAL water survey.

Discover classification - teacher pack

Classification pack (ZIP 2.6MB)

Aimed at Key Stage 3, this resource pack includes lesson plans to support the teaching of biological classification.

Heathland field guide

Tree Pipit

Heathland guide

(PDF, 3.2MB)

A free guide to the reptiles, invertebrates, birds and plants that make their home in heathland

Bats in flight

Brown Long-eared Bat

Bats in flight guide

(PDF, 1.36MB)

Key details to help you identify five of the most common species you can see in our skies.

Still struggling? Identify anything and everything with help from these online communities

OPAL iSpot - Upload your wildlife pictures and a community of experts and enthusiasts will identify them.

Identification forums on the Natural History Museum website - Get help with identifying everything from fossils to birds.

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identification