Field Encyclopedia

Calluna vulgaris

Flowers Jul–Sep; shoots year-round

Rannoch Moor, Perth & Kinross

Pinus sylvestris

Needles year-round; pollen May; cones autumn

Glen Affric, Highland

Betula pendula

Sap Mar–Apr; leaves spring; bark year-round

Glen Feshie, Cairngorms

Sphagnum spp.

Year-round

Flow Country (UNESCO candidate)

Trametes versicolor

Year-round

Fallen hardwood across most woods

Ganoderma lucidum / G. resinaceum

Jul–Nov, persistent

Old oak stumps in lowland woods

Parmelia saxatilis

Year-round

Granite boulders, Cairngorms

Juniperus communis

Berries (cones) take 2–3 years to ripen

Glen Artney, Perthshire (major stand)

Ensis siliqua

Best winter spring tides

Luce Bay, Galloway

Felis silvestris silvestris

Year-round; kittens May–Jun

Cairngorms Connect priority area

Corylus avellana

Catkins Jan–Mar; nuts Sep–Oct

Ballachuan hazelwood, Argyll

Ilex aquifolium

Berries Nov–Feb (female trees only); leaves year-round

Sunart oakwoods

Acer pseudoplatanus

Sap late winter; samaras autumn

Lothians shelterbelts

Empetrum nigrum

Berries Aug–Sep, persist into winter

Cairngorm summits

Taraxacum officinale agg.

Flowers Mar–Oct; roots year-round

Universal — verges, fields, lawns

Conopodium majus

Flowers May–Jul; tubers year-round

Old Highland pasture

Fomitopsis betulina

Year-round, fresh Jun–Oct

Cairngorms birchwoods

Lepus timidus

Year-round; protected close season

Cairngorms plateau

Sciurus vulgaris

Year-round

Cairngorms pinewoods

Martes martes

Year-round; mating Jul–Aug delayed implantation

Black Isle, Highland

Lutra lutra

Year-round

Shetland (highest UK density)

Castor fiber

Year-round; kits May–Jun

Knapdale, Argyll (original release)

Aquila chrysaetos

Year-round; eggs Mar–Apr

Isle of Mull

Haliaeetus albicilla

Year-round

Isle of Mull (Loch na Keal)

Lagopus muta

Year-round; white in winter

Cairn Gorm plateau

Tursiops truncatus

Year-round

Chanonry Point, Black Isle

Nephrops norvegicus

Year-round (creel preferred over trawl)

Firth of Clyde

Mytilus edulis

Avoid spawning summer — best Sep–Apr (R-months)

Shetland mussel ropes

Ostrea edulis

Sep–Apr (R-months)

Loch Ryan (last commercial native bed)

Iris pseudacorus

Flowers May–Jul; rhizomes year-round

Forth & Clyde Canal margins

Phragmites australis

Stems best cut Dec–Feb after die-back

Tay reedbeds (largest in UK) — Errol to Newburgh

Reynoutria japonica

Shoots Apr–May; canes year-round

Clyde corridor — endemic

Lemna minor

Apr–Oct (mats dieback in winter)

Forth & Clyde Canal pools

Esox lucius

Spawns Mar–Apr; angled Oct–Mar (large fish)

Loch Lomond (pike fishery)

Perca fluviatilis

Year-round; best Aug–Oct

Forth & Clyde Canal

Anguilla anguilla

Glass eels Mar–May; yellow/silver phases year-round

River Tweed

Thymallus thymallus

Angled Oct–Mar (closed Mar–Jun spawn)

River Tweed

Margaritifera margaritifera

Lives >100 years; juveniles need salmon/trout gills

River Spey tributaries

Arvicola amphibius

Year-round; breeds Apr–Sep

Glasgow East End grasslands (fossorial)

Neogale vison

Active year-round; kits Apr–Jun

Tay catchment

Lissotriton helveticus

Breeding Apr–Jun; terrestrial Jul–Mar

Cairngorms forest pools

Gasterosteus aculeatus

Year-round; breeding males red-bellied May–Jul

North Uist lochs (research famous)

Ulex europaeus

Flowers year-round; peak Mar–Jun ("when gorse is out of bloom, kissing is out of season")

Pentland Hills

Hedera helix

Flowers Sep–Nov; berries Dec–Apr

All lowland woods

Cladonia rangiferina

Year-round (very slow growth ~3–5 mm/yr)

Abernethy Forest

Lobaria pulmonaria

Year-round

Sunart oakwoods

Viscum album

Berries Nov–Feb

Borders apple orchards (rare)

Erithacus rubecula

Resident; sings year-round; broods Apr–Jul

All gardens & woodland UK-wide

Strix aluco

Resident; calls Sep–Mar; nests Mar–May

Edinburgh's mature parks

Erinaceus europaeus

Active Apr–Oct; hibernates Nov–Mar

Lowland gardens UK-wide

Vulpes vulpes

Year-round; cubs Mar–May

Edinburgh, Glasgow urban

Fucus vesiculosus

Year-round; peak biomass summer

Anywhere mid-shore — Fife coast

Osmundea pinnatifida

Year-round

Wester Ross rocky shores

Ostrea edulis

Traditionally 'r-months' Sep–Apr

Loch Ryan (only commercial wild fishery)

Cerastoderma edule

Year-round; best Oct–Apr

Solway Firth

Cancer pagurus

Best Sep–Jan

Orkney creel grounds

Necora puber

Best Aug–Feb

Orkney

Homarus gammarus

Year-round; peak summer

Orkney (world-class creel fishery)

Phoca vitulina

Year-round; pups Jun–Jul

Moray Firth — Chanonry Point

Lutra lutra

Year-round

Shetland (highest UK density)

Lagopus muta

Year-round; snow-white in winter

Cairn Gorm plateau

Lepus timidus

Year-round; white winter coat

Cairngorms plateau

Aquila chrysaetos

Year-round; incubation Mar–May

Isle of Mull

Haliaeetus albicilla

Year-round; breeds Feb–Aug

Isle of Mull (Loch na Keal)

Tetrao urogallus

Year-round; lek Apr–May

Abernethy Forest, Speyside

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

Leaves year-round; fruits Aug–Sep

Cairngorms gravel ridges

Betula nana

Year-round; catkins May

Cairngorms montane

Juniperus communis ssp. nana

Berries mature 2–3 years

Trotternish, Skye

Cladonia rangiferina

Year-round

Abernethy pinewood floor

Stellaria media

Year-round in mild spells; peak Mar–Nov

Any Scottish garden or allotment

Potentilla anserina

Roots Oct–Mar; leaves May–Sep

Machair of the Uists

Cardamine hirsuta

Year-round (peak Feb–May)

Every garden

Geum urbanum

Roots Sep–Apr; leaves year-round

Woodland edges nationwide

Asplenium scolopendrium

Year-round evergreen

Wet ravines, Argyll