To start, a woodland classic that everybody knows. Widely regarded as our favourite wildflower and little surprise as they can be spectacular, turning whole woodland floors in to a sea of blue. We have half of the world’s population here in the UK.

Where: Can probably be found in all of our woodland reserves, try Prisk Wood at Penallt, and  Springdale Farm near Usk for particularly good displays.

Blooming at the same time, or hot on the heels of Bluebells, the Early Purple Orchid is our first orchid to flower here in Gwent. As its name implies it is purple, however you can get pink and white varieties. Apparently when it first opens it has a fantastic scent, this soon becomes unpleasant however.

Where: Equally at home in grasslands as well as woodlands, however It is always nicest to search one out in a woodland, Prisk Wood and Springdale Farm are both good sites.

Not the most inspiring of springtime flowers, however a common and often overlooked one. Their leaves can be found most of the year round, with the modest flowers in spring. They are highly poisonous! 

Where: Can probably be found in all of our woodland reserves, try Springdale Farm and Prisk Woods.

Also known as Wild Garlic, in some woods it forms white carpets to rival the Bluebells, where this occurs your nose will become aware of its presence long before you see it. 

Where: Can be found in quite a few of our woodland reserves, try Springdale Farm and Piercefield Woods near Chepstow.

Its leaves can be eaten like Sorrel and have a distinct apple-like taste. It is one of the few flowers that manages to persist in the deep, dark shade of coniferous plantations. Its clover-like leaves are responsive to the weather and fold up in the rain and after dark. 

Where: Can probably be found in all of our woodland reserves, try Priory Wood at Bettws Newydd and Croes Robert Wood near Trellech.

They are a really good indicator of Ancient Woodland as they spread so slowly (6ft in 100 years!), therefore if the woodland is full of them they must have been there an awful long time. Anemone derives from the Greek for “Windflower”, reflecting how the petals move in a breeze.

Where: Can probably be found in all of our woodland reserves, try Springdale Farm and Piercefield Woods.

These cousins of buttercups flower very early and probably peak in March, coating woodlands and path edges with their shiny, bright yellow petals.  

Where: Can probably be found in all of our woodland reserves, however they are an early flowerer so don’t leave it too late.

This is an umbellifer, related to the more familiar Cow Parsley and Hogweed, its umbrellas are just a lot smaller and more delicate. People used to dig them up to eat the nutty flavoured bulb, pigs liked these as well, hence the name.

Where: Can probably be found in most if not all of our woodland reserves, try Springdale Farm and Prisk Wood.

This is also an umbellifer, its flowers don’t look as much like an umbrella however. Not such a widespread species but can still be found in many Gwent woodlands. 

Where: Can be found at both Springdale Farm and Strawberry Cottage Wood.

Coming in to flower as the Bluebells begin to fade, the Red Campion is common in hedgerows, verges and woodland glades. A local name for it is “Batchelors Buttons”, perhaps once worn by unmarried men to jazz up their attire.

Where: Can probably be found in all of our woodland reserves.

A classic spring flower, the sight of a Primrose means spring is surely on the way. Its name derives from the Latin Prima Rosa, meaning first rose, although it is not a rose!

Where: Can be found in many of our woodland reserves, Strawberry Cottage Wood and Priory Wood are two good sites.

Later flowering than many of the other woodland spring flowers, not in bloom until May and peaking in June.

Where: Can be found in many of our woodland reserves, it likes damp ground and the wetter parts of Croes Robert Wood are a good site.

One of the “dead” nettles, meaning it is related to the familiar Stinging Nettle, however it doesn’t sting. The whorls up the stem are really quite attractive yellow flowers that warrant a closer look. There is also a variety with variegated leaves that is an alien, invasive species that has escaped from gardens. 

Where: Can be found in many of our woodland reserves, Springdale Farm and Strawberry Cottage Wood are good sites.

This quite scarce, odd looking plant has no chlorophyll so has to parasitise tree roots, Hazel is a favourite so look for it at the base of Hazel trees.

Where: It occurs at Piercefield Woods, if you see find it at any of our other reserves we would love to know. Alternatively, you could try visiting Cwm Coed Y Cerrig National Nature Reserve in the north-east of Gwent for this one.

The national symbol of Wales, the native daffodil is more diminutive than most of the garden varieties. To quote Wordsworth “I wandered lonely as a cloud, That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils”.

Where: If you would like to see a host of golden daffodils then visit our Margaret’s Wood Reserve, early April is a great time, although it can vary from year to year.

Quite an odd-looking flower, it doesn’t have any petals or sepals. In common with other spurges it has a thick, poisonous sap. This doesn’t put off the caterpillars of the Drab Looper moth for which the spurge is its only foodplant. Gwent is a stronghold for this scarce moth species. 

Where: It occurs at Croes Robert and Piercefield Woods, also there is plenty in Loysey Woods immediately adjacent our New Grove Meadows Nature Reserve.

This distinctive plant has many evocative names such as Cuckoo-pint, Devils and Angels, Adam and Eve, Wild Arum, Snakes Head and Jack in the Pulpit. Look out for the spike of orange or red berries later in the year.

Where: Can probably be found in all of our woodland reserves.

Also known as the Town Hall Clock because the flower head is cube like with a flower on each side face, there is also a fifth one on the top.

Where: This tiny, unobtrusive plant doesn’t leap out at you, it can probably be found at a few of our woodland reserves however, and certainly at Strawberry Cottage Wood.

A distinctive looking species, closely related to garden Trilliums. The Paris in its title has nothing to do with France, it relates to the word par, as in equal, referring to the symmetry of the leaves. 

Where: A scarce species but can be found at Prisk Wood and Croes Robert Wood if you are lucky and you get your eye in, they are distinctive but easily blend in with the rest of the woodland flora.