The British seabirds at risk of EXTINCTION: Experts warn Puffins, Fulmars, and Arctic Terns could be wiped out thanks to climate change

1. Ghost Orchid

Status: Critically endangered

Best time to see: Unknown

Habitat: Beech

where? Herefordshire

This lizard was thought to be extinct until it was spotted in Herefordshire in 2009. It usually grows underground in deep leaf litter and its white flower rarely protrudes above the surface to attract pollinators.

Red Helleborine grows in southern England and is best seen in May, June and July

2. Red hellebore

Status: Critically endangered

Best time to see: May, June and July

Habitat: Dark forest

where? Southern England

This orchid grows on a stem up to 60 cm high and can bear up to 17 flowers of a deep shade of pink. Plantlife UK said they may have become rare due to declining numbers of pollinators and suitable habitats.

Common bluebells are found in only 37 places in the UK

3. Propagate bellflower

Status: Endangered

Best time to see: July to November

Habitat: Forests

where? The Welsh border and the West Midlands

The common bluebell is only found in 37 areas of 10 square kilometers in the UK, but in very small numbers. They are threatened by changes in forest management, such as the end of afforestation and other disturbances, and increased use of herbicides on roadsides and railway banks.

The crested wheatgrass grows in East Anglia and other parts of the United Kingdom

4. Wheat crested cow

Status: Endangered

Best time to see: July and August

Habitat: Rocky Hillside meadows and roadsides

where? East Anglia and other areas

The plant grows to a height of 15 to 40 cm and produces pink flowers with yellow lips. It grows in meadows and competes with dozens of other plants to attract insects.

5. Cotswold Pinecress

Status: Endangered and near threatened

Best time to see: April and May

Habitat: agricultural land

where? Cotswolds

It grows mainly in the Cotswolds, and can be seen growing from hedges, walls and banks.

Plowing, leveling of rough lands, increased use of fertilizers and herbicides, and neglect of marginal lands have all led to the gradual disappearance of the plants. It is often choked out by thicker suffocating plants.

Lady Orchid, with stunning pink flowers, grows in Kent and Oxfordshire

6. Lady Orchid

Condition: critical

Best time to see: April, May, June

Habitat: Forest edges and grasslands

where? Kent and Oxfordshire

This purple orchid produces large stems of 200 flowers up to 80 cm high. It can be seen growing on forest edges, and sometimes in open grasslands.

This meadow plant has been in decline as less land is used for grazing which means it is choked out by others

7. Meadow Clary

Status: Endangered/Near Threatened

Best time to see: Spring and summer

Habitat: Grasslands

where? Oxfordshire, the Chilterns and the North and South Downs

This plant declined before 1950 when less land was used for grazing and it was choked out by other coarse plants. It is now found in only 21 areas in southern England, where it is likely to have been reintroduced through 'wildflower seed' mixtures.

The sun-loving plant grows in open grassland and along south-facing hedge banks and southern edges of woodland.

The single-flowered winter green plant grows in moist, shady pine forests

8. Single-flowered winter plant

Status: Endangered/Near Threatened

Best time to see: May, June and July

Habitat: Pine forests

where? North East Scotland

This single-flowered plant grows in moist, shaded areas of pine forests. It can be clearly seen on dark soil and rotting pine leaves. The white flower faces down from the end of a long stem, looking a bit like an umbrella

Twinflower is a relic from the Ice Age

9. The twin

Status unknown

Best time to see: Spring and summer

Habitat: Forests

where? Scotland

An Arctic Alpine plant that is a remnant of the Ice Age, it has two pink, bell-like flowers on a slender stem and a thicker stem underneath that creeps along the ground, forming small mats. The Twinflower is one of the smallest and most delicate native flowers.

It now grows in only 50 separate sites after changes in forest management.

The white orchid has been lost from 75 percent of the countryside

10. Small orchid butterfly

Status: Endangered/Near Threatened

Best time to see: June and July

Habitat: Forests, grasslands, heathlands and wetlands

where? England, Cardiganshire in Wales, and parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland

This white orchid has been lost from 75% of the English countryside since records began. The plant grows to a height of 30 cm, and is now spreading in open areas and those with acidic soil. The best chance of seeing them is at Cae Plaine Dyffryn Nature Reserve in Wales, which hosts a population that can exceed 3,000 in good years.

The decline of orchids may be linked to the symbiotic fungi they depend on for growth, according to Plantlife UK, which are very sensitive to fertilizers and fungicides. Their use in open grasslands may have played a role in the plants' march toward extinction.

The plant prefers beech and hazel

11. Yellow bird's nest

Status unknown

Best time to see: All year round

Habitat: Beech and hazel forests

where? At the UK level

The entire plant is yellow-brown, and tends to grow in leaf litter in shaded forests. However, it began to decline after 1930, possibly due to changes in forest management, overgrazing, and habitat fragmentation.

Source: Plant Life UK