Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland – their Identiplant course is fantastic.

Field Studies Council – both online and at centres nationwide, a range of excellent courses.

Eventbrite – great resource for online learning, use keyword searches like ‘botany’ or ‘wildflower’.

The National Plant Monitoring Scheme – for when you’re feeling a teeny bit more ambitious…

1. The Wild Flower Key by Francis Rose (Revised by Clare O’Reilly) – Best for: Beginners to intermediate botanists​

2. Collins Wild Flower Guide by David Streeter – Best for: Visual learners and casual wildflower identification​

3. Plants and Habitats by Ben Averis – Best for: Combining species and habitat knowledge

4. The Pocket Guide to Wildflower Families by Faith Anstey – Best for: Beginners starting to use botanical keys​

5. Common or Garden by Ken Thompson – Best for: The extraordinary splendour of the species we encounter daily

The tools you might need / will fall in love with:

A 10x magnification hand lens or ‘loupe’ – avoid more magnification than this at first!

A craft knife, cutting board and pointy tweezers for delicate dissections.

1. Collect responsibly – click to open a .pdf of BSBI’s Code of Conduct

• Never uproot protected species or collect from small or vulnerable populations.
• Seek landowner permission before uprooting any wild plant.
• Prioritise common or abundant individuals, especially when dealing with annuals or casuals.

2. Target critical groups

• Collect specimens for groups that are difficult to identify in the field (e.g. Rubus, Taraxacum, Salix), especially where expert verification is required.
• Avoid collecting rare plants unless for urgent identification or conservation needs.

3. Gather useful material

• Include multiple individuals if needed to show variability.

• Collect a representative specimen showing diagnostic features: leaves (upper and lower), flowers, fruits, roots (only when essential), and variation.