University Challenge

The painters picture rounds love — and the works you'll be shown.

20th century

Mark Rothko 1903–1970 Helen Frankenthaler 1928–2011 🎨 Marcel Duchamp 1887–1968 🎨 Agnes Martin 1912–2004 Paul Klee 1879–1940 🎨 Paula Rego 1935–2022 Georgia O'Keeffe 1887–1986 Barbara Hepworth 1903–1975 Henry Moore 1898–1986 Lucian Freud 1922–2011 Bridget Riley born 1931 Louise Bourgeois 1911–2010 Jean-Michel Basquiat 1960–1988

21st century

Tracey Emin born 1963 Anish Kapoor born 1954 Yayoi Kusama 1929–2026 Rachel Whiteread born 1963 Ai Weiwei born 1957

Other

Giotto c. 1267–1337 Jan van Eyck c. 1390–1441 Sandro Botticelli c. 1445–1510 Leonardo da Vinci 1452–1519 Michelangelo 1475–1564 Raphael 1483–1520 Titian c. 1488/1490–1576 Hieronymus Bosch c. 1450–1516 Albrecht Dürer 1471–1528 Hans Holbein the Younger c. 1497–1543 Pieter Bruegel the Elder c. 1525–1569 El Greco 1541–1614 Caravaggio 1571–1610 Artemisia Gentileschi 1593–c. 1656 Peter Paul Rubens 1577–1640 Diego Velázquez 1599–1660 Rembrandt 1606–1669 Johannes Vermeer 1632–1675 Canaletto 1697–1768 William Hogarth 1697–1764 George Stubbs 1724–1806 Thomas Gainsborough 1727–1788 Francisco Goya 1746–1828 John Constable 1776–1837 J. M. W. Turner 1775–1851 Caspar David Friedrich 1774–1840 Eugène Delacroix 1798–1863 Gustave Courbet 1819–1877 Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1828–1882 John Everett Millais 1829–1896 Édouard Manet 1832–1883 Claude Monet 1840–1926 Edgar Degas 1834–1917 Pierre-Auguste Renoir 1841–1919 Paul Cézanne 1839–1906 Vincent van Gogh 1853–1890 Paul Gauguin 1848–1903 Georges Seurat 1859–1891 Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec 1864–1901 James McNeill Whistler 1834–1903 Gustav Klimt 1862–1918 Edvard Munch 1863–1944 Henri Matisse 1869–1954 Pablo Picasso 1881–1973 Wassily Kandinsky 1866–1944 Piet Mondrian 1872–1944 Salvador Dalí 1904–1989 René Magritte 1898–1967 Frida Kahlo 1907–1954 Edward Hopper 1882–1967 Jackson Pollock 1912–1956 🎨 Francis Bacon 1909–1992 Andy Warhol 1928–1987 David Hockney 1937–2026

Who designed it — and what to look for in the building itself.

Classical & Renaissance

Vitruvius c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC Filippo Brunelleschi 1377–1446 Andrea Palladio 1508–1580 Gian Lorenzo Bernini 1598–1680 Francesco Borromini 1599–1667 Inigo Jones 1573–1652 Christopher Wren 1632–1723 Nicholas Hawksmoor c. 1661–1736 John Vanbrugh 1664–1726 Robert Adam 1728–1792 John Nash 1752–1835 John Soane 1753–1837

Gothic & the revivals

Augustus Pugin 1812–1852 Charles Barry 1795–1860 George Gilbert Scott 1811–1878 Eugène Viollet-le-Duc 1814–1879

Modernist

Antoni Gaudí 1852–1926 Charles Rennie Mackintosh 1868–1928 Edwin Lutyens 1869–1944 Frank Lloyd Wright 1867–1959 Walter Gropius 1883–1969 Le Corbusier 1887–1965 Ludwig Mies van der Rohe 1886–1969 Alvar Aalto 1898–1976 Oscar Niemeyer 1907–2012 🏛️ Jørn Utzon 1918–2008 Louis Kahn 1901–1974

Contemporary

Norman Foster born 1935 Richard Rogers 1933–2021 Zaha Hadid 1950–2016 Frank Gehry 1929–2025 Renzo Piano born 1937 Terry Farrell 1938–2025 🏛️ David Adjaye born 1966

Recognise the composer from a few bars.

Claudio Monteverdi 1567–1643 Henry Purcell 1659–1695 Antonio Vivaldi 1678–1741 Johann Sebastian Bach 1685–1750 George Frideric Handel 1685–1759 Joseph Haydn 1732–1809 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756–1791 Ludwig van Beethoven 1770–1827 Franz Schubert 1797–1828 Hector Berlioz 1803–1869 Felix Mendelssohn 1809–1847 Frédéric Chopin 1810–1849 Robert Schumann 1810–1856 Franz Liszt 1811–1886 Richard Wagner 1813–1883 Giuseppe Verdi 1813–1901 Johannes Brahms 1833–1897 Georges Bizet 1838–1875 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 1840–1893 Antonín Dvořák 1841–1904 Edvard Grieg 1843–1907 Edward Elgar 1857–1934 Giacomo Puccini 1858–1924 Gustav Mahler 1860–1911 Claude Debussy 1862–1918 Richard Strauss 1864–1949 Jean Sibelius 1865–1957 Sergei Rachmaninoff 1873–1943 🎼 Gustav Holst 1874–1934 🎼 Ralph Vaughan Williams 1872–1958 Maurice Ravel 1875–1937 Igor Stravinsky 1882–1971 Sergei Prokofiev 1891–1953 Dmitri Shostakovich 1906–1975 Benjamin Britten 1913–1976 George Gershwin 1898–1937 Arthur Sullivan 1842–1900 Hildegard of Bingen c. 1098–1179 🎼 Barbara Strozzi 1619–1677 Fanny Mendelssohn 1805–1847 Clara Schumann 1819–1896 Ethel Smyth 1858–1944 Amy Beach 1867–1944 Florence Price 1887–1953 Nadia Boulanger 1887–1979 Lili Boulanger 1893–1918 Olivier Messiaen 1908–1992 Thea Musgrave born 1928 Arvo Pärt born 1935 🎼 Judith Weir born 1954 Errollyn Wallen born 1958

Who wrote it, what happens, and the aria you'd recognise.

Italian opera

The Marriage of Figaro 1 May 1786, Burgtheater, Vienna Don Giovanni 29 October 1787, Estates Theatre, Prague Così fan tutte 26 January 1790, Burgtheater, Vienna The Barber of Seville 20 February 1816, Teatro Argentina, Rome L'elisir d'amore 12 May 1832, Teatro della Canobbiana, Milan Lucia di Lammermoor 26 September 1835, Teatro di San Carlo, Naples Norma 26 December 1831, La Scala, Milan Rigoletto 11 March 1851, Teatro La Fenice, Venice La traviata 6 March 1853, Teatro La Fenice, Venice 🎶 Aida 24 December 1871, Khedivial Opera House, Cairo Il trovatore 19 January 1853, Teatro Apollo, Rome Otello 5 February 1887, Teatro alla Scala, Milan Nabucco 9 March 1842, Teatro alla Scala, Milan La bohème 1 February 1896, Teatro Regio, Turin Tosca 14 January 1900, Teatro Costanzi, Rome Madama Butterfly 17 February 1904, Teatro alla Scala, Milan Turandot 25 April 1926, Teatro alla Scala, Milan Orfeo ed Euridice 5 October 1762, Burgtheater, Vienna

German opera

The Magic Flute 30 September 1791, Theater auf der Wieden, Vienna Der Ring des Nibelungen First complete cycle 13–17 August 1876, Bayreuth Festspielhaus Die Walküre 26 June 1870, Nationaltheater, Munich Tristan und Isolde 10 June 1865, Königliches Hof- und Nationaltheater, Munich Der Rosenkavalier 26 January 1911, Königliches Opernhaus (Semperoper), Dresden

French opera

Carmen 3 March 1875, Opéra-Comique, Paris Faust 19 March 1859, Théâtre Lyrique, Paris

Russian & Slavic opera

Eugene Onegin 29 March 1879, Maly Theatre, Moscow (Conservatory students) Boris Godunov 27 January (8 February) 1874, Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg

Opera in English

Peter Grimes 7 June 1945, Sadler's Wells Theatre, London 🎶 Porgy and Bess 30 September 1935, Colonial Theatre, Boston; Broadway 10 October 1935 Dido and Aeneas 1689, Josias Priest's boarding school for girls, Chelsea, London The Beggar's Opera 29 January 1728, Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre, London The Turn of the Screw 14 September 1954, Teatro La Fenice, Venice Billy Budd 1 December 1951, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London The Rake's Progress 11 September 1951, Teatro La Fenice, Venice The Mikado 14 March 1885, Savoy Theatre, London The Pirates of Penzance 31 December 1879, Fifth Avenue Theatre, New York H.M.S. Pinafore 25 May 1878, Opera Comique, London Iolanthe 25 November 1882, Savoy Theatre, London The Gondoliers 7 December 1889, Savoy Theatre, London 🎶 The Yeomen of the Guard 3 October 1888, Savoy Theatre, London Patience 23 April 1881, Opera Comique, London; transferred to the Savoy Theatre, 10 October 1881 Trial by Jury 25 March 1875, Royalty Theatre, London 🎶 Ruddigore 22 January 1887, Savoy Theatre, London Princess Ida 5 January 1884, Savoy Theatre, London

The music round is not all Mozart — rock, soul, jazz and pop.

Rock

The Beatles 1960–1970 The Rolling Stones 1962–present Bob Dylan born 24 May 1941 David Bowie 1947–2016 Led Zeppelin 1968–1980 🎸 Pink Floyd 1965–1995; occasional reunions since Queen 1970–present The Who 1964–present Jimi Hendrix 1942–1970 The Velvet Underground 1964–1973 Nirvana 1987–1994 Radiohead 1985–present Fleetwood Mac 1967–present Bruce Springsteen born 23 September 1949 The Clash 1976–1986

Pop

Elvis Presley 1935–1977 Madonna born 1958 Michael Jackson 1958–2009 ABBA 1972–1982; reunited 2018– Prince 1958–2016 Kate Bush born 1958 Beyoncé born 1981 Taylor Swift born 1989

Soul, funk & R&B

Aretha Franklin 1942–2018 Ray Charles 1930–2004 James Brown 1933–2006 Marvin Gaye 1939–1984 Stevie Wonder born 1950 Nina Simone 1933–2003 Otis Redding 1941–1967

Jazz & blues

Louis Armstrong 1901–1971 Duke Ellington 1899–1974 Miles Davis 1926–1991 John Coltrane 1926–1967 Billie Holiday 1915–1959 Ella Fitzgerald 1917–1996 Robert Johnson c. 1911–1938 Muddy Waters 1913–1983 B. B. King 1925–2015

Folk & country

Joni Mitchell born 1943 Johnny Cash 1932–2003

Hip hop

Grandmaster Flash born 1958 Public Enemy formed 1985 Kendrick Lamar born 1987

Electronic

Kraftwerk formed 1970 Donna Summer 1948–2012 Soft Cell 1978–1984; reunited 2001–2004 and 2018– Fatboy Slim born 1963 Daft Punk 1993–2021

Directors and the films that get named in starters — Hollywood, Europe and beyond.

Around the world

Akira Kurosawa 1910–1998 Yasujirō Ozu 1903–1963 Kenji Mizoguchi 1898–1956 Satyajit Ray 1921–1992 Wong Kar-wai born 1958 Zhang Yimou born 1950 Jia Zhangke born 1970 Bong Joon-ho born 1969 Park Chan-wook born 1963 Abbas Kiarostami 1940–2016 Ousmane Sembène 1923–2007

Hollywood

Alfred Hitchcock 1899–1980 Orson Welles 1915–1985 John Ford 1894–1973 Billy Wilder 1906–2002 Stanley Kubrick 1928–1999 Steven Spielberg born 1946 Martin Scorsese born 1942 Francis Ford Coppola born 1939 David Lynch 1946–2025 Quentin Tarantino born 1963 Joel and Ethan Coen Joel born 1954; Ethan born 1957 Christopher Nolan born 1970 Kathryn Bigelow born 1951 Greta Gerwig born 1983 Spike Lee born 1957

British & Irish

David Lean 1908–1991 🎬 Powell and Pressburger Partnership 1939–1972; Michael Powell 1905–1990, Emeric Pressburger 1902–1988 Mike Leigh born 1943 Lynne Ramsay born 1969 Charlie Chaplin 1889–1977 Carol Reed 1906–1976 Ken Loach born 1936 Richard Attenborough 1923–2014 Ridley Scott born 1937 Neil Jordan born 1950 Danny Boyle born 1956 Sam Mendes born 1965 Steve McQueen born 1969 Andrea Arnold born 1961 🎬 Terence Davies 1945–2023 Emerald Fennell born 1985

European

Jean-Luc Godard 1930–2022 François Truffaut 1932–1984 Agnès Varda 1928–2019 Federico Fellini 1920–1993 Ingmar Bergman 1918–2007 Michelangelo Antonioni 1912–2007 Pedro Almodóvar born 1949 🎬 Luis Buñuel 1900–1983 Jean Renoir 1894–1979 Fritz Lang 1890–1976 Krzysztof Kieślowski 1941–1996 Michael Haneke born 1942 Chantal Akerman 1950–2015

Animation & documentary

Hayao Miyazaki born 1941 Walt Disney 1901–1966 John Lasseter born 1957 Nick Park born 1958

Novelists, poets and playwrights — titles, characters and famous lines.

Novelists

Daniel Defoe c. 1660–1731 Jonathan Swift 1667–1745 Henry Fielding 1707–1754 Laurence Sterne 1713–1768 Jane Austen 1775–1817 Walter Scott 1771–1832 Mary Shelley 1797–1851 Charles Dickens 1812–1870 Charlotte Brontë 1816–1855 Emily Brontë 1818–1848 George Eliot 1819–1880 Thomas Hardy 1840–1928 Anthony Trollope 1815–1882 Robert Louis Stevenson 1850–1894 Joseph Conrad 1857–1924 E. M. Forster 1879–1970 James Joyce 1882–1941 Virginia Woolf 1882–1941 D. H. Lawrence 1885–1930 Agatha Christie 1890–1976 Evelyn Waugh 1903–1966 George Orwell 1903–1950 Graham Greene 1904–1991 📚 Iris Murdoch 1919–1999 Doris Lessing 1919–2013 Salman Rushdie born 1947 Kazuo Ishiguro born 1954 📚 Hilary Mantel 1952–2022 Zadie Smith born 1975 Murasaki Shikibu c. 973–c. 1014 or later Miguel de Cervantes 1547–1616 Victor Hugo 1802–1885 Gustave Flaubert 1821–1880 Leo Tolstoy 1828–1910 Fyodor Dostoevsky 1821–1881 Marcel Proust 1871–1922 Franz Kafka 1883–1924 Herman Melville 1819–1891 Mark Twain 1835–1910 Edith Wharton 1862–1937 F. Scott Fitzgerald 1896–1940 Ernest Hemingway 1899–1961 Chinua Achebe 1930–2013 Gabriel García Márquez 1927–2014 Toni Morrison 1931–2019 Olga Tokarczuk born 1962 Nikolai Gogol 1809–1852 Mikhail Bulgakov 1891–1940 Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o 1938–2025 Naguib Mahfouz 1911–2006 Yasunari Kawabata 1899–1972 Haruki Murakami born 1949 Han Kang born 1970 Margaret Atwood born 1939 📚 Elena Ferrante pseudonym; first published 1992 Annie Ernaux born 1940 Abdulrazak Gurnah born 1948 Jorge Luis Borges 1899–1986 Italo Calvino 1923–1985 Orhan Pamuk born 1952 J. M. Coetzee born 1940

Poets

Homer fl. c. 8th century BC (traditional) Dante Alighieri c. 1265–1321 Geoffrey Chaucer c. 1343–1400 John Milton 1608–1674 William Blake 1757–1827 William Wordsworth 1770–1850 Samuel Taylor Coleridge 1772–1834 Lord Byron 1788–1824 Percy Bysshe Shelley 1792–1822 John Keats 1795–1821 Elizabeth Barrett Browning 1806–1861 Alfred Tennyson 1809–1892 Walt Whitman 1819–1892 Emily Dickinson 1830–1886 Christina Rossetti 1830–1894 W. B. Yeats 1865–1939 Wilfred Owen 1893–1918 T. S. Eliot 1888–1965 Sylvia Plath 1932–1963 Seamus Heaney 1939–2013 Sappho c. 630 – c. 570 BC Wisława Szymborska 1923–2012

Playwrights

Sophocles c. 496–406 BC William Shakespeare 1564–1616 Christopher Marlowe 1564–1593 Molière 1622–1673 Henrik Ibsen 1828–1906 Oscar Wilde 1854–1900 Anton Chekhov 1860–1904 📚 George Bernard Shaw 1856–1950 Samuel Beckett 1906–1989 Arthur Miller 1915–2005 Tennessee Williams 1911–1983 Harold Pinter 1930–2008 Tom Stoppard 1937–2025 W. S. Gilbert 1836–1911 Wole Soyinka born 1934 Georg Büchner 1813–1837 August Strindberg 1849–1912 Bertolt Brecht 1898–1956 Eugene O'Neill 1888–1953 Federico García Lorca 1898–1936 Caryl Churchill born 1938 📚 Sarah Kane 1971–1999 Lorraine Hansberry 1930–1965 Aeschylus c. 525–456 BC Euripides c. 480–406 BC Aristophanes c. 446–c. 386 BC Luigi Pirandello 1867–1936 Eugène Ionesco 1909–1994 Lynn Nottage born 1964

Plot, characters and the lines everyone half-remembers.

Tragedies

Hamlet c. 1599–1601 Macbeth c. 1606 King Lear c. 1605–06 Othello c. 1603–04 Romeo and Juliet c. 1594–96 Julius Caesar 1599 Antony and Cleopatra c. 1606–07 Coriolanus c. 1608 Titus Andronicus c. 1588–93 Timon of Athens c. 1605–08

Comedies

A Midsummer Night's Dream c. 1595–96 Twelfth Night c. 1601–02 Much Ado About Nothing c. 1598–99 As You Like It c. 1599–1600 The Merchant of Venice c. 1596–97 The Taming of the Shrew c. 1590–92 The Comedy of Errors c. 1594 Measure for Measure c. 1603–04 Love's Labour's Lost c. 1594–95 The Merry Wives of Windsor c. 1597–1602

Histories

Richard III c. 1592–93 Richard II c. 1595 Henry IV, Part 1 c. 1596–97 Henry V c. 1599 Henry VIII 1613

Late romances

The Tempest c. 1610–11 The Winter's Tale c. 1610–11 Cymbeline c. 1610–11 Pericles, Prince of Tyre c. 1607–08

Gods, heroes and monsters — their stories, symbols and other names.

Greek

Zeus Greek mythology — king of the Olympians, god of sky and thunder Hera Greek mythology — Olympian, queen of the gods Poseidon Greek mythology — Olympian, god of the sea, earthquakes and horses Hades Greek mythology — Olympian brother, lord of the underworld Athena Greek mythology — Olympian, goddess of wisdom, craft and strategic war Apollo Greek mythology — Olympian, god of prophecy, music, healing and light Artemis Greek mythology — Olympian, virgin goddess of the hunt, wild animals and childbirth Aphrodite Greek mythology — Olympian, goddess of love, beauty and desire Ares Greek mythology — Olympian, god of war Hephaestus Greek mythology — Olympian, god of fire, metalworking and craftsmen Hermes Greek mythology — Olympian, messenger god, patron of travellers, traders and thieves Demeter Greek mythology — Olympian, goddess of grain, agriculture and the harvest Dionysus Greek mythology — Olympian, god of wine, ecstasy and the theatre Persephone Greek mythology — queen of the underworld and goddess of spring growth Heracles Greek mythology — hero, later a god Theseus Greek mythology — hero and king of Athens Perseus Greek mythology — hero, founder of Mycenae Jason Greek mythology — hero, captain of the Argonauts Odysseus Greek mythology — hero of the Trojan War and the Odyssey Achilles Greek mythology — hero of the Trojan War Orpheus Greek mythology — Thracian musician, poet and prophet Daedalus Greek mythology — craftsman, architect and inventor Prometheus Greek mythology — Titan, champion of humankind Pandora Greek mythology — the first woman Medusa Greek mythology — Gorgon Minotaur Greek mythology — monster of Crete Cerberus Greek mythology — monster, hound of Hades Sphinx Greek mythology — monster of Thebes

Norse

Odin Norse mythology — chief of the Æsir Thor Norse mythology — thunder god of the Æsir Loki Norse mythology — trickster among the Æsir Freyja Norse mythology — Vanir goddess of love, war and seiðr Frigg Norse mythology — queen of the Æsir Baldr Norse mythology — the shining god of the Æsir Týr Norse mythology — god of war, law and oaths Fenrir Norse mythology — monstrous wolf, child of Loki Jörmungandr Norse mythology — the Midgard Serpent Valkyrie Norse mythology — Odin's choosers of the slain ⚡ Yggdrasil Norse mythology — the world tree Ragnarök Norse mythology — the doom of the gods

Egyptian

Ra Egyptian mythology — solar creator god Osiris Egyptian mythology — god of the dead and resurrection Isis Egyptian mythology — goddess of magic, motherhood and kingship Horus Egyptian mythology — falcon sky god and patron of kingship Anubis Egyptian mythology — god of embalming and the necropolis Thoth Egyptian mythology — god of writing, wisdom and the moon Set Egyptian mythology — god of storms, the desert and disorder Bastet Egyptian mythology — cat goddess of home, fertility and protection

Celtic & Arthurian

King Arthur Arthurian legend — legendary king of the Britons Merlin Arthurian legend — prophet and enchanter Morgan le Fay Arthurian legend — enchantress and healer Cú Chulainn Irish mythology — hero of the Ulster Cycle

Mesopotamian

Gilgamesh Mesopotamian mythology — hero-king of Uruk Inanna Mesopotamian mythology — goddess of love, war and the planet Venus Enkidu Mesopotamian mythology — wild man and companion of Gilgamesh

Around the world

Amaterasu Japanese mythology — Shinto sun goddess and ancestor of the emperors Quetzalcoatl Aztec and Mesoamerican mythology — the Feathered Serpent Anansi Akan (West African) folklore — spider trickster

Who wrote what, and the ideas that give them away.

Confucius c. 551–479 BC (traditional dates) Laozi Traditionally 6th century BC (historicity disputed) Socrates c. 470/469–399 BC Plato c. 428/427 or 424/423–348/347 BC Aristotle 384–322 BC Epicurus 341–270 BC Marcus Aurelius AD 121–180 Augustine of Hippo AD 354–430 Thomas Aquinas 1225–1274 Niccolò Machiavelli 1469–1527 René Descartes 1596–1650 Thomas Hobbes 1588–1679 Baruch Spinoza 1632–1677 John Locke 1632–1704 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz 1646–1716 George Berkeley 1685–1753 David Hume 1711–1776 Jean-Jacques Rousseau 1712–1778 Voltaire 1694–1778 Immanuel Kant 1724–1804 Mary Wollstonecraft 1759–1797 Jeremy Bentham 1748–1832 Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel 1770–1831 Arthur Schopenhauer 1788–1860 John Stuart Mill 1806–1873 Søren Kierkegaard 1813–1855 Karl Marx 1818–1883 Friedrich Nietzsche 1844–1900 Bertrand Russell 1872–1970 Ludwig Wittgenstein 1889–1951 Martin Heidegger 1889–1976 Jean-Paul Sartre 1905–1980 Simone de Beauvoir 1908–1986 Hannah Arendt 1906–1975 Karl Popper 1902–1994 Michel Foucault 1926–1984 Zhuangzi c. 369 – c. 286 BC Nagarjuna c. 150 – c. 250 AD Al-Ghazali c. 1058–1111 Ibn Rushd (Averroes) 1126–1198 Maimonides 1138–1204 Christine de Pizan c. 1364 – c. 1430 Simone Weil 1909–1943 Jacques Derrida 1930–2004 Judith Butler born 1956 🏺 Elizabeth Anscombe 1919–2001 Mary Midgley 1919–2018 Martha Nussbaum born 1947 Frantz Fanon 1925–1961 W. E. B. Du Bois 1868–1963 Edward Said 1935–2003 Thomas Kuhn 1922–1996 John Rawls 1921–2002 Angela Davis born 1944 Cornel West born 1953

Discoveries, laws, eponyms and Nobel Prizes — the backbone of science starters.

Physics

Galileo Galilei 1564–1642 Christiaan Huygens 1629–1695 Isaac Newton 1642/43–1727 Émilie du Châtelet 1706–1749 Michael Faraday 1791–1867 James Clerk Maxwell 1831–1879 J. J. Thomson 1856–1940 Max Planck 1858–1947 Marie Curie 1867–1934 Ernest Rutherford 1871–1937 Albert Einstein 1879–1955 Lise Meitner 1878–1968 Niels Bohr 1885–1962 Erwin Schrödinger 1887–1961 Werner Heisenberg 1901–1976 Paul Dirac 1902–1984 Enrico Fermi 1901–1954 Maria Goeppert Mayer 1906–1972 J. Robert Oppenheimer 1904–1967 Chien-Shiung Wu 1912–1997 🔬 Richard Feynman 1918–1988 Peter Higgs 1929–2024

Chemistry

Robert Boyle 1627–1691 Joseph Priestley 1733–1804 Antoine Lavoisier 1743–1794 John Dalton 1766–1844 Amedeo Avogadro 1776–1856 Humphry Davy 1778–1829 Dmitri Mendeleev 1834–1907 Alfred Nobel 1833–1896 Fritz Haber 1868–1934 Irène Joliot-Curie 1897–1956 Linus Pauling 1901–1994 Kathleen Lonsdale 1903–1971 🔬 Dorothy Hodgkin 1910–1994 Rosalind Franklin 1920–1958

Biology

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 1632–1723 Carl Linnaeus 1707–1778 Charles Darwin 1809–1882 Alfred Russel Wallace 1823–1913 Gregor Mendel 1822–1884 Louis Pasteur 1822–1895 Robert Koch 1843–1910 Alexander Fleming 1881–1955 Barbara McClintock 1902–1992 Francis Crick 1916–2004 James Watson 1928–2025 Rita Levi-Montalcini 1909–2012 Rachel Carson 1907–1964 Lynn Margulis 1938–2011 Jane Goodall 1934–2025 Jennifer Doudna born 1964

Maths, astronomy, medicine & more

Euclid fl. c. 300 BC Archimedes c. 287–212 BC 🔬 Hypatia c. 350/370–415 Leonhard Euler 1707–1783 Carl Friedrich Gauss 1777–1855 Ada Lovelace 1815–1852 Emmy Noether 1882–1935 Alan Turing 1912–1954 Grace Hopper 1906–1992 Katherine Johnson 1918–2020 Nicolaus Copernicus 1473–1543 Johannes Kepler 1571–1630 Edmond Halley 1656–1742 Caroline Herschel 1750–1848 Henrietta Swan Leavitt 1868–1921 Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin 1900–1979 Vera Rubin 1928–2016 Jocelyn Bell Burnell 1943– Stephen Hawking 1942–2018 William Harvey 1578–1657 Edward Jenner 1749–1823 Mary Anning 1799–1847 Charles Lyell 1797–1875 John Snow 1813–1858 Florence Nightingale 1820–1910 Elizabeth Garrett Anderson 1836–1917 Tu Youyou born 1930

The elements, laws, particles and creatures that keep coming up.

Physics

⚛️ The Doppler effect 1842 Absolute zero 1848 Entropy 1865 The photoelectric effect 1887; explained 1905 Brownian motion 1827; explained 1905 Superconductivity 1911 Black holes 1916 solution; imaged 2019 Neutrinos proposed 1930; detected 1956 Antimatter predicted 1928; positron found 1932 The Higgs boson Predicted 1964; discovered 2012 The Large Hadron Collider First beams 10 September 2008 The Michelson–Morley experiment 1887 Bose–Einstein condensate Predicted 1924–25; first created 1995 Cherenkov radiation Observed 1934; explained 1937 The SI base units System established 1960; redefined 20 May 2019 ⚛️ The Planck constant Introduced 1900 Superfluidity Discovered 1937 ⚛️ Gravitational waves Predicted 1916; first detected 14 September 2015

Chemistry

Tungsten 1783 Mercury Chemistry — transition metals Phosphorus 1669 Helium 1868 (in the Sun); 1895 (on Earth) ⚛️ Francium 1939 Gold Chemistry — transition metals Noble gases 1894–1900 Allotropes of carbon Chemistry — materials Aqua regia Chemistry — acids and reagents Benzene 1825 (isolated); 1865 (ring structure proposed) Buckminsterfullerene 1985 Graphene 2004 The Haber process 1909 (laboratory); 1913 (first industrial plant, at Oppau) Catalysis 1835 (named by Berzelius) The mole 1894 (named); 2019 (redefined) pH 1909 Half-life 1907 (term coined by Rutherford) Chirality 1848 (Pasteur's separation); 1893 (named by Lord Kelvin)

Biology

Mitochondrion 1898 (named by Carl Benda) Photosynthesis Biology — plant physiology and bioenergetics The Krebs cycle 1937 DNA 1869 isolated; 1953 structure solved CRISPR 1987 observed; 2012 adapted for gene editing Enzymes 1877 (term coined by Wilhelm Kühne) Prions 1982 (named by Stanley Prusiner) Binomial nomenclature 1753 (plants); 1758 (animals) Antibiotic resistance Biology — microbiology and public health Tardigrade First described 1773; phylum named 1776 Axolotl Described 1798; genome sequenced 2018 Octopus Biology — molluscs, order Octopoda Coelacanth Rediscovered alive, 22 December 1938 Platypus Described 1799 Arctic tern Biology — birds, migration and navigation Naked mole-rat Biology — mammals, eusociality and ageing Venus flytrap Named 1768 Honey bee Biology — insects, eusociality and animal communication

Mathematics

⚛️ Pi c. 1900 BC – present e — Euler's number 1683 / 1748 The golden ratio c. 300 BC – present The Fibonacci sequence 1202 Prime numbers c. 300 BC – present ⚛️ Zero c. 3rd century BC – 628 AD ⚛️ Imaginary numbers 1545–1831 Pythagoras' theorem c. 1800 BC – c. 530 BC Euler's identity 1748 Cantor's diagonal argument 1891 Group theory 1830s – present The Möbius strip 1858 Fermat's Last Theorem c. 1637 – 1995 The Riemann hypothesis 1859 ⚛️ Gödel's incompleteness theorems 1931 The four colour theorem 1852–1976 ⚛️ The Millennium Prize Problems 2000 The Fields Medal 1936 – present The Monty Hall problem 1975 / 1990 The normal distribution 1733–1809

Medicine & the body

The human heart Described by Harvey, 1628 The anatomy of the ear Organ of Corti described 1851 The eye Ophthalmoscope invented 1851 The human skeleton Vesalius, 1543 The brain's lobes Broca's area localised 1861 The plexus Latin for a braid or plait Blood plasma Fractionation developed from 1940 Blood groups ABO discovered 1901 The liver First successful transplant 1967 The kidney Artificial version built 1943 Insulin Isolated 1921 The endocrine system The word 'hormone' coined 1905 The immune system Clonal selection theory, 1957 Germ theory Established 1860s–1880s Anaesthesia First public demonstration 1846 The X-ray Discovered 8 November 1895 ⚛️ MRI Nobel Prize 2003 ⚛️ The Hippocratic oath 5th–4th century BC The human microbiome Term coined 2001 Vitamins Named 1912

Every English and British monarch since 1066, and what happened in the reign.

Anglo-Saxon & Danish

Alfred the Great c. 848/849–899 Æthelstan c. 894–939 Æthelred the Unready c. 966–1016 Cnut the Great c. 990–1035 Edward the Confessor c. 1003–1066

Norman & Angevin

Harold II c. 1022–1066 William I c. 1028–1087 William II c. 1056–1100 Henry I c. 1068–1135 Stephen c. 1092/1096–1154

Plantagenet

Henry II 1133–1189 Richard I 1157–1199 John 1166–1216 Henry III 1207–1272 Edward I 1239–1307 Edward II 1284–1327 Edward III 1312–1377

Lancaster & York

Richard II of England 1367–1400 Henry IV of England 1367–1413 Henry V of England 1386/87–1422 Henry VI 1421–1471 Edward IV 1442–1483 Edward V 1470–1483 (presumed) Richard III of England 1452–1485

Tudor

Henry VII 1457–1509 Henry VIII of England 1491–1547 Edward VI 1537–1553 Lady Jane Grey 1536/37–1554 Mary I 1516–1558 Elizabeth I 1533–1603

Stuart

James I 1566–1625 Charles I 1600–1649 Charles II 1630–1685 James II 1633–1701 William III and Mary II William 1650–1702; Mary 1662–1694 Anne 1665–1714

Hanoverian

George I 1660–1727 George II 1683–1760 George III 1738–1820 George IV 1762–1830 William IV 1765–1837 Victoria 1819–1901

Saxe-Coburg & Windsor

Edward VII 1841–1910 George V 1865–1936 Edward VIII 1894–1972 George VI 1895–1952 Elizabeth II 1926–2022 Charles III 1948–

Every UK Prime Minister from Walpole on, and what happened on their watch.

18th century

Robert Walpole 1. 1721–1742 Earl of Wilmington 2. 1742–1743 Henry Pelham 3. 1743–1754 Duke of Newcastle 4. 1754–1756; 1757–1762 Duke of Devonshire 5. 1756–1757 Earl of Bute 6. 1762–1763 George Grenville 7. 1763–1765 Marquess of Rockingham 8. 1765–1766; 1782 Pitt the Elder 9. 1766–1768 Duke of Grafton 10. 1768–1770 Lord North 11. 1770–1782 Earl of Shelburne 12. 1782–1783 Duke of Portland 13. 1783; 1807–1809 Pitt the Younger 14. 1783–1801; 1804–1806

19th century

Henry Addington 15. 1801–1804 Lord Grenville 16. 1806–1807 Spencer Perceval 17. 1809–1812 Lord Liverpool 18. 1812–1827 George Canning 19. 1827 Viscount Goderich 20. 1827–1828 Duke of Wellington 21. 1828–1830; 1834 Earl Grey 22. 1830–1834 Viscount Melbourne 23. 1834; 1835–1841 Robert Peel 24. 1834–1835; 1841–1846 Lord John Russell 25. 1846–1852; 1865–1866 Earl of Derby 26. 1852; 1858–1859; 1866–1868 Earl of Aberdeen 27. 1852–1855 Viscount Palmerston 28. 1855–1858; 1859–1865 Benjamin Disraeli 29. 1868; 1874–1880 William Gladstone 30. 1868–1874; 1880–1885; 1886; 1892–1894 Marquess of Salisbury 31. 1885–1886; 1886–1892; 1895–1902 Earl of Rosebery 32. 1894–1895

20th century

Arthur Balfour 33. 1902–1905 Henry Campbell-Bannerman 34. 1905–1908 H. H. Asquith 35. 1908–1916 David Lloyd George 36. 1916–1922 Bonar Law 37. 1922–1923 Stanley Baldwin 38. 1923–1924; 1924–1929; 1935–1937 Ramsay MacDonald 39. 1924; 1929–1935 Neville Chamberlain 40. 1937–1940 Winston Churchill 41. 1940–1945; 1951–1955 Clement Attlee 42. 1945–1951 Anthony Eden 43. 1955–1957 Harold Macmillan 44. 1957–1963 Alec Douglas-Home 45. 1963–1964 Harold Wilson 46. 1964–1970; 1974–1976 Edward Heath 47. 1970–1974 James Callaghan 48. 1976–1979 Margaret Thatcher 49. 1979–1990 John Major 50. 1990–1997 Tony Blair 51. 1997–2007

21st century

Gordon Brown 52. 2007–2010 David Cameron 53. 2010–2016 Theresa May 54. 2016–2019 Boris Johnson 55. 2019–2022 Liz Truss 56. 2022 Rishi Sunak 57. 2022–2024 Keir Starmer 58. 2024–2026 Andy Burnham 59. 2026–present

Every President of the United States, their numbers and their defining moments.

18th century

George Washington 1. 1789–1797 John Adams 2. 1797–1801

19th century

Thomas Jefferson 3. 1801–1809 James Madison 4. 1809–1817 James Monroe 5. 1817–1825 John Quincy Adams 6. 1825–1829 Andrew Jackson 7. 1829–1837 Martin Van Buren 8. 1837–1841 William Henry Harrison 9. 1841 John Tyler 10. 1841–1845 James K. Polk 11. 1845–1849 Zachary Taylor 12. 1849–1850 Millard Fillmore 13. 1850–1853 Franklin Pierce 14. 1853–1857 James Buchanan 15. 1857–1861 Abraham Lincoln 16. 1861–1865 Andrew Johnson 17. 1865–1869 Ulysses S. Grant 18. 1869–1877 Rutherford B. Hayes 19. 1877–1881 James A. Garfield 20. 1881 Chester A. Arthur 21. 1881–1885 Grover Cleveland 22. 1885–1889; 1893–1897 Benjamin Harrison 23. 1889–1893 William McKinley 25. 1897–1901

20th century

Theodore Roosevelt 26. 1901–1909 William Howard Taft 27. 1909–1913 Woodrow Wilson 28. 1913–1921 Warren G. Harding 29. 1921–1923 Calvin Coolidge 30. 1923–1929 Herbert Hoover 31. 1929–1933 Franklin D. Roosevelt 32. 1933–1945 Harry S. Truman 33. 1945–1953 Dwight D. Eisenhower 34. 1953–1961 John F. Kennedy 35. 1961–1963 Lyndon B. Johnson 36. 1963–1969 Richard Nixon 37. 1969–1974 Gerald Ford 38. 1974–1977 Jimmy Carter 39. 1977–1981 Ronald Reagan 40. 1981–1989 George H. W. Bush 41. 1989–1993 Bill Clinton 42. 1993–2001

21st century

George W. Bush 43. 2001–2009 Barack Obama 44. 2009–2017 Donald Trump 45. 2017–2021; 2025–present Joe Biden 46. 2021–2025

Battles, treaties, revolutions and the dates that anchor everything else.

Ancient world

The Battle of Marathon 490 BC The Battle of Thermopylae 480 BC The Peloponnesian War 431–404 BC The Assassination of Julius Caesar 15 March 44 BC The Battle of Actium 2 September 31 BC The Eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 AD 79 The Fall of the Western Roman Empire AD 476 (conventional date)

Medieval

The Battle of Hastings 14 October 1066 Magna Carta 15 June 1215 The Black Death 1346–1353 The Fall of Constantinople 29 May 1453 The Crusades 1095–1291 The Battle of Agincourt 25 October 1415 The Wars of the Roses 1455–1487

Early modern

The Spanish Armada 1588 The Gunpowder Plot 1605 The English Civil War 1642–1651 The Great Fire of London 2–6 September 1666 The Glorious Revolution 1688–89 The Thirty Years' War 1618–1648 The Act of Union 1707 In force 1 May 1707 📜 The Reformation from 1517 The Peace of Westphalia 24 October 1648 The Salem witch trials 1692–93

Revolutions & empires

The American Revolution 1765–1783 (war from 1775) The French Revolution 1789–1799 The Storming of the Bastille 14 July 1789 The Battle of Trafalgar 21 October 1805 The Battle of Waterloo 18 June 1815 The Congress of Vienna September 1814 – June 1815 The Abolition of the slave trade Royal assent 25 March 1807 The Irish Famine 1845–1852 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 1857–58 The Scramble for Africa c. 1881–1914 The American Civil War 1861–1865 The Meiji Restoration 1868 (reign 1868–1912) The Haitian Revolution 1791–1804 The Opium Wars 1839–1842 and 1856–1860 The Taiping Rebellion 1850–1864 The Paris Commune 18 March – 28 May 1871 The Boxer Rebellion 1899–1901 The Iranian Revolution 1978–1979 The Romanian Revolution of 1989 16–25 December 1989 The Congress of Berlin 13 June – 13 July 1878

The 20th century

The sinking of the Titanic 14–15 April 1912 The First World War 28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918 The Russian Revolution 1917 (February and October, Old Style) The Treaty of Versailles signed 28 June 1919; in force 10 January 1920 The Wall Street Crash 24–29 October 1929 The Spanish Civil War 17 July 1936 – 1 April 1939 The Second World War 1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945 D-Day 6 June 1944 The Holocaust 1933–1945; systematic mass murder from 1941 Hiroshima and Nagasaki 6 and 9 August 1945 Indian independence and Partition 14–15 August 1947 The Cuban Missile Crisis 16–28 October 1962 The Apollo 11 Moon landing 16–24 July 1969; landing 20 July 1969 The fall of the Berlin Wall 9 November 1989 The end of apartheid 1990–1994 The Mexican Revolution 1910–1920 The Easter Rising 24–29 April 1916 The Sykes–Picot Agreement 1916 The Chinese Civil War 1927–1949 The Korean War 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 The Suez Crisis July – November 1956 The decolonisation of Africa 1951–1994 The Vietnam War 1955–1975 📜 The Cultural Revolution 1966–1976 The Rwandan genocide April–July 1994 The Partition of Ireland 1920–1925 The Yugoslav Wars 1991–2001 The Long March 1934–1935

Landmarks, cities, rivers and records — the places questions circle around.

Landmarks & wonders

The Great Pyramid of Giza c. 2600 BC The Colosseum AD 72–80 The Great Wall of China 7th century BC onwards; best-known sections 1368–1644 Machu Picchu c. 1450 Petra flourished 1st century BC – 1st century AD Stonehenge c. 3000–2000 BC The Taj Mahal commissioned 1631; complex completed 1653 Angkor Wat c. 1113–1150 The Eiffel Tower built 1887–1889 The Statue of Liberty dedicated 28 October 1886 Christ the Redeemer built 1922–1931 The Sagrada Família begun 19 March 1882 The Hagia Sophia completed AD 537 The Alhambra begun 1238 The Panama Canal opened 15 August 1914 The Suez Canal opened 17 November 1869

Cities

Istanbul founded as Byzantion c. 660 BC Rome traditionally founded 21 April 753 BC Venice traditionally founded 25 March 421 Saint Petersburg founded 27 May 1703 Budapest unified 17 November 1873 Jerusalem Israel and Palestine — in the Judaean Hills, between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea Cairo founded 969 Kyoto founded as Heian-kyo in 794 Timbuktu founded c. 1100 Brasília inaugurated 21 April 1960 Valletta foundation stone laid 28 March 1566 Reykjavík settled c. 874; town charter 1786 Luxor ancient Thebes; capital of Egypt in the Middle and New Kingdoms Nusantara construction began 2022; designated Indonesia's future capital by law in 2022

Physical geography

The Sahara North Africa — spanning eleven countries from the Atlantic to the Red Sea The Amazon rainforest South America — nine countries, about 60% of it in Brazil The Great Barrier Reef Australia — off the Queensland coast, in the Coral Sea The Dead Sea Jordan, Israel and the West Bank — the Jordan Rift Valley Lake Baikal Russia — southern Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast and Buryatia The Mariana Trench Western Pacific Ocean — east of the Mariana Islands, a US territory The Great Rift Valley East Africa and the Levant — Mozambique to Lebanon The Atacama Desert Chile — the Pacific coast of northern Chile, with edges in Peru, Bolivia and Argentina Victoria Falls first seen by a European in 1855 The Ring of Fire The Pacific Ocean rim — from New Zealand through Asia and the Americas to Chile Mount Fuji last erupted 1707–08 Uluru handed back to its traditional owners in 1985; climbing banned in 2019 The Matterhorn first climbed 14 July 1865 The Grand Canyon national park since 1919 The Bosporus governed by the Montreux Convention of 1936 The Strait of Gibraltar refilled by the Zanclean flood about 5.3 million years ago The Danube about 2,850 km long The Gulf of Carpentaria charted by the Dutch from 1606; named in 1623

Records & extremes

The Caspian Sea Central Asia — bordered by Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Azerbaijan Greenland North America — an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark Vatican City founded 1929 Longest river Africa and South America — the Nile against the Amazon Furthest point from Earth's centre Ecuador — the Andes, one degree south of the Equator Mount Everest official height agreed at 8,848.86 m in December 2020 Lake Titicaca surface at about 3,812 m above sea level

Identify it from the picture — trees, flowers, plants, birds and insects.

Trees

English oak Deciduous · to 20–40 m · often 500+ years Sessile oak Deciduous · to 20–40 m Silver birch Deciduous · to 30 m · short-lived, rarely past 100 years Beech Deciduous · to 40 m · 250–350 years Ash Deciduous · to 35 m · last into leaf, first out Hornbeam Deciduous · to 30 m Field maple Deciduous · to 20 m Sycamore Deciduous · to 35 m · introduced, probably Tudor Horse chestnut Deciduous · to 40 m · introduced c. 1600 Sweet chestnut Deciduous · to 35 m · Roman introduction Small-leaved lime Deciduous · to 32 m · can live 500 years Rowan Deciduous · to 15 m Hawthorn Deciduous · to 15 m · the May tree Blackthorn Deciduous · to 6–7 m · flowers March Alder Deciduous · to 28 m Goat willow Deciduous · to 10 m · flowers before leafing Aspen Deciduous · to 25 m Wych elm Deciduous · to 30 m Yew Evergreen conifer · to 20 m · some over 2,000 years Scots pine Evergreen conifer · to 35 m Norway spruce Evergreen conifer · to 40 m · reintroduced in the 16th century European larch Deciduous conifer · to 45 m · introduced c. 1620 Ginkgo Deciduous · to 25–30 m · a lineage over 200 million years old Giant sequoia Evergreen conifer · to 90 m · over 3,000 years Downy birch Native · deciduous, to 30 m · wet heath, moor, bog margins and upland woods Wild cherry Native · deciduous, to 30 m · blossoms April · woods and hedgerows Bird cherry Native · deciduous, to 25 m · flowers April · wet woods and streamsides, north and west Crab apple Native · deciduous, to 10 m · blossom spring · hedges, scrub and wood edges Wild service tree Native · deciduous, to 25 m · flowers late spring · ancient oak and ash woods on clay and lime Common whitebeam Native to southern England · deciduous, to 20 m · flowers May · chalk and limestone, widely planted Black poplar Native · deciduous, to 30 m · one of Britain's rarest native trees · river floodplains and ditches White poplar Long-naturalised introduction (non-native per Woodland Trust) · deciduous, to 20 m · wet ground, coasts White willow Native · deciduous, to 25 m · flowers early spring · riversides and wet ground Large-leaved lime Native · deciduous · flowers early summer · rare, south-west England on limy soils Common lime Hybrid of the two native limes · deciduous · avenues, parks and streets English elm Long-established lowland tree (origin debated) · deciduous, to 30 m · hedgerows of England and Wales Smooth-leaved elm Native to southern England · deciduous, to 30 m · hedgerows, more resistant to Dutch elm disease Holly Native · evergreen, to 15 m · woods, hedges and scrub Box Native · evergreen, to 12 m · chalk and limestone slopes, e.g. Box Hill Strawberry tree Introduced to Britain (neophyte; native to Ireland) · evergreen · flowers and fruits in autumn · gardens, cliffs Juniper Native · evergreen conifer, low shrub to small tree, to 8 m · chalk downs, moorland and Scots pine woods Elder Native · deciduous, to 15 m · flowers late May–June · hedges, scrub, wasteland and woods Norway maple Introduced (neophyte, 17th century) · deciduous, to 25 m · streets, parks and plantations Common walnut Introduced, naturalised in lowland Britain · deciduous, to 35 m · parks, hedgerows and river banks Midland hawthorn Native · deciduous shrub or small tree, to 8 m · flowers from mid-April · ancient woods and clay hedgebanks Weeping willow Introduced hybrid (neophyte) · deciduous, to about 15 m · lakesides, rivers and gardens Holm oak Neophyte (introduced late 1500s) · evergreen to 20 m · coasts, parks and gardens in the south Turkey oak Neophyte (introduced 18th century) · deciduous to 30 m · parks, roadsides and woodland edges Red oak Neophyte (North American) · deciduous to 25 m · parks, estates and plantations London plane Neophyte (hybrid of 17th-century origin) · deciduous to 35 m · streets and city parks Tree of heaven Neophyte (in cultivation 1751) · deciduous to 25 m · city waste ground, railways and pavements Douglas fir Neophyte (introduced 1827) · evergreen conifer to 60 m+ · plantations, estates and Christmas-tree farms Sitka spruce Neophyte (introduced 1831) · evergreen conifer to 50 m+ · upland plantations in the west and north Western red cedar Neophyte (introduced 1853) · evergreen conifer to 60 m · hedges, plantations and parks Lawson cypress Neophyte (introduced 1854) · evergreen conifer to 45 m · parks, churchyards, gardens and hedges Leyland cypress Neophyte (hybrid arose 1888) · evergreen conifer to 40 m · hedges and gardens Cedar of Lebanon Neophyte (in Britain 1638) · evergreen conifer to 35 m · country-house parks and gardens Atlas cedar Neophyte (introduced 1840s) · evergreen conifer to 35 m · parks, gardens and churchyards Monkey puzzle Neophyte (introduced 1795) · evergreen conifer to 30 m · Victorian gardens, parks and front lawns Corsican pine Neophyte · evergreen conifer to 40 m · plantations, dunes, heaths and shelter belts Lodgepole pine Neophyte (introduced 1855) · evergreen conifer to 25 m · upland and peatland plantations Tulip tree Neophyte (introduced about 1650) · deciduous to 35 m · large parks and gardens Indian bean tree Neophyte (introduced 1720s) · deciduous to 15 m · parks, squares and gardens Laburnum Neophyte (garden tree since the 16th century) · deciduous to 8 m · gardens, parks and roadsides Japanese flowering cherry Neophyte (cultivars since the 19th century) · deciduous to 12 m · streets, parks and gardens Sweet gum Neophyte (introduced 1681) · deciduous to 25 m · parks, gardens and streets Coast redwood Neophyte (introduced 1843) · evergreen conifer, the world's tallest tree · estates, arboreta and plantations Black locust Neophyte (introduced about 1636) · deciduous to 25 m · streets, parks and waste ground

Shrubs

Hazel Native · catkins from mid-February · woods, scrub and hedgerows Dogwood Native · flowers May–Jun · woodland edges and hedgerows, mainly southern England Spindle Native · flowers May–Jun · hedges, scrub and woodland edge on chalk Guelder rose Native · flowers May–Jul · damp hedgerows, fens and scrub Wayfaring tree Native · flowers May–Jun · chalk and limestone hedges and scrub Wild privet Native · flowers from June · hedgerows, scrub and calcareous grassland Purging buckthorn Native · flowers May–Jun · chalk scrub and hedges, England and Wales Alder buckthorn Native · flowers May–Jun · wet woodland, fens and acid heath Sea buckthorn Native on the English east coast, introduced elsewhere · berries autumn–winter · sand dunes and sea cliffs Dog rose Native · flowers May–Aug · hedgerows, woodland edge and scrub Field rose Native · flowers Jun–Jul · woodland edges, rides and unkempt hedges Burnet rose Native · flowers May–Jun · sand dunes, limestone pavement and coastal cliffs Sweet briar Native (local) · flowers Jun–Jul · calcareous scrub, downland and dunes Bramble Native · flowers Jun–Sep, fruit from late July · hedges, woodland, scrub and waste ground Wild raspberry Native · flowers in summer, fruit Jul–Aug · open woodland, heath and scrub, especially in the north and hills Common broom Native · flowers Apr–Jun · heathland, grassland, open woodland and hedgerows Butcher's broom Native in the south · flowers in spring, berries autumn–winter · dry woods, hedges and sea cliffs Honeysuckle Native · flowers Jun–Sep · woods and hedgerows Mezereon Native or alien in Britain · flowers late winter to early spring · calcareous woodland Spurge laurel Native · flowers Dec/Jan–Apr · open woods and hedges on chalk and limestone Barberry Native or archaeophyte · flowers May–Jun · hedgerows, scrub and coppice Tamarisk Neophyte (in gardens by 1571) · flowers summer · coasts, sea walls and hedges Red currant Native or alien · flowers in spring · woods, hedges, stream valleys and fen-carr Common rock-rose Native · flowers Jun–Sep · chalk and limestone grassland, heath and coasts Bell heather Native · flowers Jul–Sep · dry heath and moor Cross-leaved heath Native · flowers Jun–Sep · bogs and wet heath Bilberry Native · deciduous, to 60 cm · flowers Apr–Jun · heath, moor and open woodland Cowberry Native · evergreen, to 30 cm · flowers late spring · upland heath and moor Crowberry Native · evergreen, creeping to 30 cm · flowers spring · moor, mountain and cliff Bearberry Native · evergreen mat · flowers spring · dry upland heath, mostly Scotland Bog myrtle Native · deciduous, to 1.5 m · catkins Apr · wet heath and bog Dwarf birch Native · deciduous, to 1 m · Highland blanket bog, above about 300 m Dwarf willow Native · prostrate mat, aerial shoots 5–10 cm · high mountain snow-beds Creeping willow Native · low shrub, to 2 m in upright forms · heath, bog margins and dune slacks Grey willow Native · deciduous, to 10 m · catkins Mar–Apr · wet woodland, fen, ditches Osier Archaeophyte (introduced) · deciduous, to 6 m · wet ground, ditches and hedgerows Bay willow Native · deciduous, to about 10 m · catkins May–Jun · north England and Scotland, wet ground Rhododendron Neophyte · introduced 1763 · evergreen to 8 m · flowers May–Jun · woods and heath, west and north Cherry laurel Neophyte · planted by early 1600s · evergreen, 4–8 m · flowers spring · hedges, woods, parks Buddleia Neophyte · from China, wild by 1922 · to 4 m · flowers Jun–Oct · railways, walls and waste ground Fuchsia Neophyte · from Chile and Argentina · to 3 m · flowers summer–autumn · hedges in the mild west Wall cotoneaster Neophyte · from China · deciduous, to 90 cm · flowers late spring · walls, waste ground, limestone Snowberry Neophyte · introduced 1817 · deciduous, to 2 m · fruit autumn–winter · hedges, woods, waste ground Oregon grape Neophyte · from western North America · evergreen, 0.5–1 m · flowers Mar–Jun · hedges, woods, waste ground Firethorn Neophyte · Old World species · evergreen, 2.5–4 m · flowers late spring · walls, hedges and gardens Japanese rose Neophyte · from east Asia · first wild record 1917 · to 2 m · flowers Jun–Oct · dunes, roadsides, hedges Western gorse Native · low evergreen spiny shrub · flowers Aug–Nov · heaths and sea-cliffs, west and north Dwarf gorse Native · low spiny evergreen · flowers Jul–Nov · lowland heath, mainly south-east England

Wildflowers & flowers

Bluebell Flowers mid-April to late May Snowdrop Flowers January to March Primrose Flowers March to May Cowslip Flowers April to May Wood anemone Flowers March to May Lesser celandine Flowers February to May Ramsons Flowers April to May Foxglove Biennial · flowers June to September Common poppy Annual · flowers June to August Cornflower Annual · flowers June to August Ox-eye daisy Flowers June to September Meadowsweet Flowers June to September Rosebay willowherb Flowers June to September Common knapweed Flowers June to September Bird's-foot trefoil Flowers May to September Wild thyme Flowers June to September Marsh marigold Flowers March to July Yellow flag iris Flowers May to August Early purple orchid Flowers April to June Bee orchid Flowers June to July Sea thrift Flowers April to July Heather Flowers August to October Gorse Evergreen shrub · flowers chiefly January to June Teasel Biennial · flowers July to August Dog's mercury Native · flowers Feb–Apr · ancient woodland and shady hedge banks Goldilocks buttercup Native · flowers Mar–May, peaking April · deciduous woodland on base-rich soils Sweet violet Native · flowers Mar–May · woodland edges and hedge banks Moschatel Native · flowers in spring, gone by May or June in the lowlands · shaded woodland, stream banks and hedge banks Wood sorrel Native · flowers Apr–May · cool, damp, ancient woodland Common dog-violet Native · flowers Apr–Jun · woods, hedgerows, heaths and grassland Lesser periwinkle Archaeophyte (in British gardens by 995) · flowers Apr–Sep · hedge banks, woodland margins and old garden sites Cuckoo flower Native · flowers in spring, about when the cuckoo returns · damp grassland, verges and stream banks Garlic mustard Native · flowers Apr–Jun · shady hedge banks, woodland edges and waste ground Greater stitchwort Native · flowers Apr–Jun · hedge banks, verges and deciduous woodland Lords-and-ladies Native · flowers Apr–May, berries in autumn · woodland and hedgerows Wild strawberry Native · flowers Apr–Jul, fruits from June · hedge banks, woodland edges and chalk grassland Wood spurge Native · flowers Apr–Jun · damp, coppiced woodland, mainly southern England Ground ivy Native · flowers in spring · woods, hedgerows, meadows, wasteland and lawns Bugle Native · flowers in spring · damp woods, hedge banks and meadows Green alkanet Neophyte (introduced over 300 years ago) · flowers spring to summer · shady hedgerows and verges, mainly southern England Cow parsley Native · flowers Apr–Jun · verges, hedgerows and woodland edges Red campion Native · flowers May–Sep · woodland edges, hedge banks and verges White campion Archaeophyte (thought to arrive with Neolithic farmers) · flowers May–Oct · verges, field margins and waste ground Herb Paris Native · flowers May–Jun · ancient woodland on moist, chalky soils Yellow archangel Native (wild form) · flowers May–Jun · ancient woodland and hedgerows, mainly England and Wales Lily of the valley Native · flowers May–Jun · dry, chalky ancient woodland and limestone Herb robert Native · flowers May–Sep · woodland edges, walls, shady banks Hogweed Native · flowers May–Aug · verges, hedgerows and rough grassland Meadow buttercup Native · flowers Apr–Oct · meadows, pastures and damp grassland Creeping buttercup Native · flowers Apr–Aug · lawns, damp pasture, verges and gardens Red clover Native · flowers May–Oct · meadows, pastures, verges and lawns White clover Native · flowers Jun–Sep · lawns, pastures, verges and almost any grass Common vetch Native (BSBI), with a sown fodder subspecies long grown as a crop · flowers May–Sep · grassland, verges, farmland and dunes Tufted vetch Native · flowers Jun–Aug · hedgerows, rough grassland, scrub and verges Meadow vetchling Native · flowers May–Aug · rough grassland, verges and waste ground Yellow rattle Native annual · flowers May–Sep · hay meadows, pastures and dunes Eyebright Native · flowers May–Sep · short grassland, heath and downland Ragged robin Native · flowers May–Jun · damp meadows, fens and wet woodland Field scabious Native · flowers summer to autumn · chalk and limestone grassland, verges and hedgebanks Devil's-bit scabious Native · flowers Jun–Oct · damp meadows, fens, marshes and wet heath Betony Native · flowers Jun–Oct · grassland, hedgebanks, heaths and woodland rides Greater knapweed Native · flowers Jun–Sep · chalk and limestone grassland, verges and cliffs Salad burnet Native · flowers May–Sep · chalk and limestone grassland Lady's bedstraw Native · flowers Jun–Sep · dry meadows, verges, dunes and cliff tops Rough hawkbit Native · flowers summer to early autumn · hay meadows, pastures, chalk and limestone grassland Yarrow Native · flowers Jun–Nov · lawns, verges, meadows and pastures Selfheal Native · flowers Jun–Oct · short turf, verges, woodland clearings and lawns Harebell Native · flowers Jul–Sep · dry grassland, heaths, dunes and cliff tops Meadow cranesbill Native · flowers Jun–Aug · lowland hay meadows, verges and chalky grassland Field forget-me-not Archaeophyte (pre-1500 introduction) · flowers spring to autumn · fields, verges, open ground and dry grassland Musk mallow Native · flowers Jul–Aug · verges, pastures, hedgerows and churchyards Agrimony Native · flowers Jun–Aug · grassy places, verges and hedgerows Dandelion Native · flowers March to October, often much longer · lawns, verges, waste ground Daisy Native · flowers almost all year, peak March to September · lawns and short turf Common ragwort Native · biennial, flowers June to November · grassland, verges, waste ground Hedge bindweed Native · perennial climber, flowers June to September · hedges, fences, riverbanks Common mallow Archaeophyte · flowers June to October · waste ground, verges, hedge banks Chicory Archaeophyte · flowers July to October · dry grassy waste ground, verges Wild carrot Native · biennial, flowers June to September · chalk grassland, verges, sea cliffs Viper's bugloss Native · biennial, flowers May to September · chalk grassland, dunes, shingle, cliffs Red bartsia Native · annual, flowers June to September · verges, cuttings, damp grassland Common toadflax Native · perennial, flowers June to November · grassland, verges, waste ground Oxford ragwort Neophyte · flowers spring to late autumn, sometimes winter · walls, railways, waste ground Bladder campion Native · perennial, flowers May to September · grassland, verges, field edges Corn marigold Archaeophyte · annual, flowers June to October · arable fields, sown margins, waste ground Scentless mayweed Archaeophyte · annual, flowers June to October · arable land, tracks, waste ground Shepherd's purse Archaeophyte · annual, flowers all year · fields, tracks, gardens, waste ground Common chickweed Native · annual, flowers all year · gardens, arable land, waste ground Groundsel Native · annual, flowers all year · gardens, arable fields, waste ground Colt's-foot Native · perennial, flowers February to April, before its leaves · clay banks, waste ground, verges Creeping thistle Native · perennial, flowers June to October · field edges, verges, waste ground Spear thistle Native · biennial, flowers July to October · pastures, verges, field edges Hemp-agrimony Native · perennial, flowers July to September · fens, damp woodland, riverbanks Tansy Native or archaeophyte · perennial, flowers July to September · riverbanks, verges, rough grassland Field pansy Archaeophyte · annual, flowers April to October · arable fields, verges, waste ground Red valerian Neophyte (before 1600s) · perennial, flowers May to October · walls, cliffs, railway cuttings White water-lily Native · flowers Jun–Aug · still and slow fresh water Yellow water-lily Native · flowers Jun–Sep · ponds, lakes, canals and slow rivers Water forget-me-not Native · flowers Jun–Sep · stream, ditch and pond margins Water mint Native · flowers Jul–Oct · wet ground and water margins Purple loosestrife Native · flowers Jun–Aug · fens, reedbeds and riverbanks Yellow loosestrife Native · flowers Jul–Sep · riversides, lakesides and wet ground Bogbean Native · flowers Mar–Jun · bogs, fens, pond and lake margins Water-crowfoot Native · flowers May–Sep · ponds, ditches, streams and chalk rivers Flowering rush Native (scarce in the north) · flowers Jul–Aug · canals, ditches and slow rivers Water avens Native · flowers May–Sep · damp meadows, streamsides and wet woods Marsh cinquefoil Native · flowers May–Jul · bogs, fens and wet moorland Common cottongrass Native · cottony fruiting heads from early summer · bogs, wet heaths and moorland Round-leaved sundew Native · flowers Jun–Aug · acid bogs, wet heath and moorland Common butterwort Native · flowers May–Jul · wet moorland, flushes and acid bogs, mainly north and west Bog asphodel Native · flowers Jun–Sep · peat bogs, damp heath and moor Marsh violet Native · flowers Apr–Jul · marshes, bogs and wet woodland on acid soils Brooklime Native · flowers May–Sep · streams, ditches and wet margins Himalayan balsam Neophyte, introduced 1839 · flowers Jul–Oct · riverbanks, ditches and damp ground Bulrush (great reedmace) Native · flowers Jul–Aug · lakes, ponds, rivers and marshes Water plantain Native · flowers Jun–Sep · shallow water and muddy margins Arrowhead Native · flowers Jun–Sep · shallow ponds, canals and slow rivers Frogbit Native · flowers Jul–Aug · ponds, ditches and dykes Marsh woundwort Native · flowers Jun–Oct · pond, river and canal margins and damp ground Marsh thistle Native · flowers Jun–Sep · wet meadows, fens, ditches and bogs Sea campion Native · flowers May–Sep · sea cliffs, shingle and rocky shores Sea holly Native · flowers Jul–Sep · sand dunes and fine shingle Sea kale Native · flowers early summer · shingle beaches and sand Sea lavender Native · flowers Jul–Oct · saltmarsh and muddy creeks Sea aster Native · flowers Jul–Oct · saltmarsh and estuary mud Marsh samphire Native annual · flowers Aug–Sep · saltmarsh mud and estuary flats Yellow horned-poppy Native · flowers Jun–Sep · shingle beaches, cliffs and dunes Sea bindweed Native · flowers Jun–Aug · sand dunes and sandy shingle Kidney vetch Native · flowers Jun–Sep · sand dunes, chalk grassland and sea cliffs Bloody cranesbill Native · flowers Jun–Aug · limestone grassland, dunes and coastal rocks Rock samphire Native · flowers Jul–Aug · sea cliffs, sea walls and rocky shores, mainly south and west Wild pansy (heartsease) Native · flowers Apr–Sep · grassland, dunes, arable margins and waste ground Mountain avens Native · flowers May–Jul · limestone and basic rock in the mountains and north-west coasts Purple saxifrage Native · flowers Feb–Jun · damp basic rocks and screes in the mountains Mountain pansy Native · flowers May–Jul · upland grassland, limestone pasture and old mine spoil Moss campion Native · flowers Jun–Aug · mountain ledges, screes and high tops Alpine lady's-mantle Native · flowers Jun–Aug · mountain grassland, rocks and snow-beds Spring gentian Native · flowers Apr–early Jun · sugar limestone grassland, Upper Teesdale only Field gentian Native biennial · flowers late summer–autumn · short, old, unimproved grassland Clustered bellflower Native · flowers summer · chalk and limestone grassland, scrub edges and verges Round-headed rampion Native · flowers Jul–Aug · chalk downland, almost only the South Downs Pasqueflower Native · flowers Mar–May · dry chalk and limestone grassland, England only Chalk milkwort Native · flowers May–Jun · old chalk and limestone grassland, southern England Bird's-eye primrose Native · flowers May–Jun · damp limestone flushes and grassland in the northern Pennines Common spotted orchid Native · flowers May–Aug · grassland, open woodland, fen, verges Pyramidal orchid Native · flowers Jun–Jul · chalk grassland, dunes, verges, quarries Southern marsh orchid Native · flowers May–Aug · damp meadows, fens, quarries and clay-pits Lady's slipper orchid Native · flowers late May–early Jun · limestone woods and pastures; extremely rare Fly orchid Native · flowers May–Jul · chalk and limestone woods, scrub and grassland Man orchid Native · flowers late May–Jun · south-facing chalk and limestone grassland Lizard orchid Native · flowers Jun–Jul · chalk grassland, dunes and quarries in south-east England Military orchid Native · flowers May–Jun · chalk grassland and woodland glades; three sites Monkey orchid Native · flowers May–Jun · grazed chalk grassland; three sites Frog orchid Native · flowers Jun–Jul · short grassland, downs, machair, hay meadows Greater butterfly orchid Native · flowers May–Jul · chalk hay meadows, grassland and ancient woodland Fragrant orchid Native · flowers Jun–Jul · chalk grassland, heath and moor Burnt orchid Native · flowers mid-May–Jun, and a late form Jul–Aug · short chalk grassland Green-winged orchid Native · flowers Apr–Jun · unimproved old meadows and pastures Common twayblade Native · flowers May–Jul · woods, grassland, scrub and dunes on lime-rich soil Bird's-nest orchid Native · flowers May–Jul · shaded woodland, especially beech Broad-leaved helleborine Native · flowers Jul–Sep · woods, scrub, waste ground and gardens Marsh helleborine Native · flowers Jul–Aug · fens, wet grassland and dune slacks Autumn lady's-tresses Native · flowers late Aug–early Sep · short turf, dunes, cliff-tops, lawns Musk orchid Native · flowers mid-Jun–early Aug · short chalk and limestone turf Ghost orchid Native · flowers rarely, late summer · deep leaf litter of beech and oak woods; Critically Endangered Early marsh orchid Native · flowers May–Jul · base-rich fens, wet meadows and dune slacks

Ferns, grasses & other plants

Bracken Deciduous fern · fronds to 2–3 m Hart's-tongue fern Evergreen fern · fronds 20–60 cm Male fern Deciduous fern · fronds to 1.5 m Sphagnum moss Perennial moss · around 300 species worldwide Common ivy Evergreen climber · to 30 m Mistletoe Evergreen hemiparasite · berries December–February Old man's beard Deciduous climber · to 20 m · flowers July–September Common reed Perennial grass · to 4 m · flowers August–October Cock's-foot Perennial grass · to 1.4 m · flowers June–September Stinging nettle Perennial · to 1.5 m · flowers June–September Common duckweed Annual to perennial · fronds 1.5–4 mm Dragon's blood tree Evergreen tree · to 10 m · IUCN Vulnerable Rafflesia arnoldii Flower to about 1 m across · named 1820 Titan arum Inflorescence to 3 m · first flowered at Kew 1889 · IUCN Endangered Welwitschia Perennial gymnosperm · often 1,000+ years old Giant water lily Leaves to 3 m across · named 1837 Saguaro Columnar cactus · to about 15 m · lives 150–200 years Baobab Deciduous tree · to 25 m · some over 1,000 years old Common polypody Native · evergreen fern to about 30 cm · rocks, walls, banks and mossy trees Lady fern Native · deciduous fern to 1.2 m · damp woods, hedgerows and stream banks Royal fern Native · deciduous fern to 1.5 m or more · bogs, wet woods and ditches, mainly in the west Adder's-tongue fern Native · above ground June–August · old meadows and dune slacks Marsh horsetail Native · perennial spore plant 10–60 cm · marshes, wet meadows and fens Great horsetail Native · sterile shoots 30–150 cm, rarely over 2 m · springs and seepages on clay Field horsetail Native · shoots to about 60 cm · arable land, verges, banks and gardens Juniper haircap Native moss · shoots 3–4 cm · dry acid heath, burnt ground and spoil Common haircap Native moss · shoots up to 40 cm, usually about 20 cm · bogs, wet heath and damp acid woodland Marram grass Native · flowers July–August · to about 1 m · sand dunes all round the coast Sheep's fescue Native · densely tufted perennial grass · acid and chalk grassland, heath and mountain Perennial ryegrass Native · flowers May–summer · to about 50 cm · pasture, verges and lawns Yorkshire fog Native · flowers May–August · to 1 m · meadows, rides, waste ground and lawns Common couch Native · flowers June–August · to 1.5 m · arable fields, verges and waste ground Tufted hair-grass Native · flowers June–August · tussocks to 1.2 m · wet meadows, woodland rides and heavy soils Purple moor-grass Native · flowers July–September · tussocks to 1.2 m · wet heath, bog, moor and rush pasture Jointed rush Native · flowers in summer · wet ground, ditches, dune slacks and pond edges Soft rush Native · flowers May–July · to 1.5 m · wet grassland, marsh, ditches and heath Pendulous sedge Native · flowers May–July · to 1.5 m · wet woodland, clay soils and stream banks Japanese knotweed Neophyte, introduced 1825 · shoots to over 2 m · roadsides, riverbanks, railways and waste ground Giant hogweed Neophyte, introduced in the 19th century · flowers June–July · 1.5–5 m · riverbanks, waste ground and verges Wild hop Native · flowers July–September · twining climber to 6 m or more · hedgerows, fens and river banks Black bryony Native · flowers May–August, berries autumn · twining climber to 4 m · hedgerows and wood edges White bryony Native · flowers May–August, berries autumn and winter · climber to 4 m · hedgerows, mainly southern and eastern England

Fungi

Fly agaric Fruits August–November · cap to 20 cm Death cap Fruits July–November · cap 5–15 cm Giant puffball Fruits July–October · usually 10–50 cm across Chicken of the woods Fruits May–October · brackets to 40 cm

Birds

Bittern Resident · 69–81 cm Corncrake Summer visitor · 27–30 cm Capercaillie Resident · male to 6.5 kg Black grouse Resident · 45–60 cm Ptarmigan Resident · 34–36 cm Hen harrier Resident · wingspan 100–120 cm Red kite Resident · wingspan 175–195 cm White-tailed eagle Resident · wingspan 200–245 cm Osprey Summer visitor · wingspan 145–170 cm Golden eagle Resident · wingspan 190–225 cm Avocet Resident and summer visitor · 42–46 cm Stone-curlew Summer visitor · 40–44 cm Nightjar Summer visitor · 24–28 cm Dartford warbler Resident · 12–13 cm Bearded reedling Resident · 14–15.5 cm Cirl bunting Resident · 15–16.5 cm Chough Resident · 39–40 cm Golden oriole Scarce summer visitor · 24 cm Hoopoe Scarce passage migrant · 25–32 cm Waxwing Winter visitor · 18–21 cm Snow bunting Scarce breeder and winter visitor · 16–17 cm Common crane Resident and passage · 1.2 m tall Spoonbill Summer visitor and passage · 80–93 cm Nightingale Summer visitor · 15–16.5 cm Kakapo Critically Endangered · 325 birds (DOC, September 2026) North Island brown kiwi Vulnerable (IUCN) · c. 24,500 birds Shoebill Vulnerable · 3,300–5,300 mature individuals (BirdLife) Harpy eagle Vulnerable (IUCN, uplisted 2021) Philippine eagle Critically Endangered · c. 400 breeding pairs California condor Critically Endangered · 607 birds, 392 wild (31 Dec 2025) Andean condor Vulnerable (IUCN, uplisted 2020) · c. 6,700 mature individuals Whooping crane Endangered · c. 540 in the Aransas–Wood Buffalo flock (winter 2025–26) Spoon-billed sandpiper Critically Endangered · c. 443 mature individuals (2024 estimate) Bali myna Critically Endangered · wild population in the low hundreds at most Hyacinth macaw Vulnerable · c. 4,300–4,700 mature individuals Kea Endangered · c. 3,000–7,000 birds Secretarybird Endangered (IUCN, uplisted 2020) · fewer than 10,000 mature individuals Resplendent quetzal Near Threatened · 20,000–50,000 birds Greater bird-of-paradise Least Concern · New Guinea and the Aru Islands Hoatzin Least Concern · national bird of Guyana Oilbird Least Concern · northern South America and Trinidad Superb lyrebird Least Concern · south-eastern Australia Emperor penguin Endangered (IUCN, uplisted April 2026) Wandering albatross Vulnerable · c. 20,000 mature individuals Great bustard Endangered (IUCN, uplisted 2023) · c. 44,000–57,000 birds Takahe Endangered · c. 500+ birds (DOC)

Insects & other invertebrates

Peacock butterfly On the wing July–September and again March–May · wingspan 63–69 mm Red admiral Seen in almost every month; most numerous August–October · wingspan 64–78 mm Painted lady Migrant, May–October · wingspan 58–74 mm Small tortoiseshell On the wing March–October in two or three broods · wingspan 45–62 mm Orange-tip Single brood, April–June · wingspan 40–52 mm Brimstone One brood; adults live up to about a year · wingspan 60–74 mm Purple emperor One brood, late June to mid-August · wingspan 70–92 mm Swallowtail Chiefly late May to early July, with a partial second brood in hot years · wingspan 76–93 mm Large blue One brood, mid-June to mid-July · wingspan 38–44 mm Death's-head hawkmoth Immigrant, chiefly August–October · wingspan 90–130 mm Elephant hawkmoth One brood, May–July · wingspan 45–60 mm Hummingbird hawkmoth Immigrant, chiefly June–September · wingspan 50–58 mm Seven-spot ladybird Adults March–October, hibernating over winter · 5–8 mm Harlequin ladybird Established in Britain since 2004 · 6–8 mm Stag beetle Adults on the wing May–August · males to about 75 mm Devil's coach horse Adults chiefly April–October · 20–32 mm Emperor dragonfly Flies June–August · body length about 78 mm Banded demoiselle Flies May–August · body length about 45 mm Buff-tailed bumblebee Queens from February; colonies now often winter-active in the south · queens to about 22 mm Red mason bee Univoltine, flying late March or April to June · 8–12 mm Hornet Colonies annual, May–November · queens to about 35 mm Common wasp Colonies annual, April–November · workers 12–17 mm Garden spider Adults most conspicuous August–October · female 10–18 mm, male 4–8 mm Glow-worm Females glow on warm still nights, chiefly June–July · female to about 25 mm

Bones, muscles, organs, the brain and the senses — name the structure from the picture.

Bones

Frontal bone The forehead bone Parietal bone Paired bones of the skull vault Temporal bone Home of the ear Occipital bone The back and base of the skull Sphenoid bone The keystone of the skull Ethmoid bone The sieve bone Mandible Largest and strongest bone of the face Maxilla The upper jaw Zygomatic bone The cheekbone Nasal bone The bridge of the nose Vomer The ploughshare bone Hyoid bone The bone that touches no other bone Atlas (C1) First cervical vertebra Axis (C2) Second cervical vertebra Lumbar vertebra Five vertebrae, L1 to L5 Thoracic vertebra Twelve vertebrae, T1 to T12 Sacrum Five fused vertebrae Coccyx The tailbone Sternum The breastbone Rib Twelve pairs Vertebral column About 33 vertebrae in five regions Cervical vertebra Seven vertebrae, C1 to C7 Foramen magnum The 'big hole' of the skull Skull 22 bones, 21 of them immobile Clavicle The collarbone Scapula The shoulder blade Humerus Longest bone of the upper limb Radius The thumb-side forearm bone Ulna The little-finger-side forearm bone Scaphoid The most commonly fractured carpal bone Lunate Crescent-shaped carpal bone Carpal bones Eight bones in two rows Metacarpal bones Five bones of the palm Phalanges The finger and toe bones Hip bone Also the coxal bone, os coxae or innominate bone Pelvis Latin for 'basin' Femur Longest bone in the body Patella The kneecap — the largest sesamoid bone Tibia Second longest bone in the body Fibula The slender bone of the lateral leg Talus The ankle bone (astragalus) Calcaneus The heel bone — the largest bone of the foot Tarsal bones Seven bones of the hindfoot and midfoot Metatarsal bones Five long bones of the mid-foot Navicular bone The boat-shaped bone of the foot Ilium The largest and uppermost part of the hip bone Ischium The 'sitting bone' of the hip bone Pubis The anterior part of the hip bone

Joints & cartilage

Shoulder joint The most mobile joint in the body Elbow joint A hinge with a pivot built in Wrist joint A condyloid (ellipsoid) joint Hip joint The deepest ball-and-socket joint Knee joint The largest joint in the body Ankle joint A mortise-and-tenon hinge 🫀 Temporomandibular joint The joint of the jaw Intervertebral disc 23 in the human spine 🫀 Meniscus 'Little moon' in Greek 🫀 Anterior cruciate ligament The knee's most famous ligament 🫀 Posterior cruciate ligament The stronger of the two cruciates Achilles tendon Named in 1693 Rotator cuff Four muscles: SITS Articular cartilage Glassy, smooth and avascular Sacroiliac joint Links spine to pelvis 🫀 Pubic symphysis A cartilaginous joint of the pelvis 🫀 Synovial joint Freely movable (diarthrosis) Bursa Latin for 'purse' 🫀 Carpal tunnel Nine tendons and a nerve Plantar fascia Also the plantar aponeurosis Cranial sutures Fibrous joints of the skull 🫀 Ligamentum flavum Latin for 'yellow ligament'

Muscles

Masseter The muscle popularly called the strongest for its size Temporalis The fan-shaped muscle of the temple Sternocleidomastoid The landmark muscle that splits the neck into triangles Trapezius Named for its diamond or trapezoid shape 🫀 Platysma A flat sheet under the skin of the neck Diaphragm The main muscle of breathing Pectoralis major The large fan-shaped muscle of the upper chest Pectoralis minor The thin triangular muscle that divides the axillary artery into three parts Serratus anterior The boxer's muscle Rectus abdominis The six-pack muscle 🫀 External oblique The 'hands in pockets' muscle 🫀 Transversus abdominis The body's natural corset 🫀 Erector spinae Three columns known as iliocostalis, longissimus and spinalis Latissimus dorsi The broadest muscle of the back Rhomboid muscles Rhomboid major and rhomboid minor Intercostal muscles Three layers between the ribs 🫀 Orbicularis oculi The muscle of the blink and the genuine smile 🫀 Orbicularis oris The muscle of the lips Buccinator The trumpeter's muscle Frontalis The muscle that raises the eyebrows Psoas major The hip flexor that is also the tenderloin 🫀 Quadratus lumborum The deep muscle of the loin that hitches the hip 🫀 Pelvic floor Levator ani and coccygeus, also called the pelvic diaphragm Levator scapulae The raiser of the shoulder blade Deltoid The rounded cap of the shoulder Biceps brachii Two-headed muscle of the front of the arm Triceps brachii Three-headed extensor of the elbow Brachialis The 'workhorse' of elbow flexion Supraspinatus Most commonly torn rotator cuff muscle Infraspinatus Main lateral rotator of the arm Teres major 'Lat's little helper' Gluteus maximus Largest muscle in the body by mass Gluteus medius Abductor that keeps the pelvis level Rectus femoris The quadriceps head that crosses the hip Quadriceps femoris Four-headed extensor of the knee Sartorius The longest muscle in the human body Biceps femoris The lateral hamstring Hamstrings Three muscles of the back of the thigh Adductor magnus Largest of the adductors, part hamstring Gracilis The slender adductor that crosses the knee Tibialis anterior Main dorsiflexor of the ankle Gastrocnemius The two-headed muscle of the calf Soleus The deep, flat calf muscle Popliteus The muscle that 'unlocks' the knee Vastus lateralis The outer head of the quadriceps Fibularis longus Formerly peroneus longus Plantaris The vestigial muscle with the very long tendon Vastus medialis The inner head of the quadriceps