Species spotlight. Broad-leaved Dock - Rumex obtusifolius is our commonest dock. It has large leaves with heart shaped bases & leaf veins are rough with tiny finger-like projections below. In fruit tepals usually have a few teeth & one rounded wart. Photo: Ava Marley

Species spotlight. Common Ragwort - Jacobaea vulgaris has yellow daisy-like flowers & highly divided stem leaves. Flower heads are often held in dense, flat-topped clusters, unlike Oxford and Hoary Ragwort which have a looser, more open arrangement. Photo Ava Marley

Species Spotlight: Red Clover - Trifolium pratense is common in all types of grassland. It has almost stalkless flower heads, with a pair of leaves just below, unlike the very similar looking but rarer Zigzag Clover which has a stalk to the flower head. Photo Suzanne Farmer

Species Spotlight: Harebell - Campanula rotundifolia is found in dry, sunny, low nutrient habitats on both acidic & alkaline soils. Although the basal leaves are rounded in shape they wither early, & the upper leaves are narrow & linear-lanceolate. Photo: Sue McBean

Species Spotlight: Bulrush - Typha latifolia grows in tall dense stands, favouring nutrient-rich & still water margins. Leaves are wide & glaucous, & there is no gap between the brown cylindrical female flower spike & the male flower spike above. Photos N. Esselin & S. Farmer

Species Spotlight: The leaves of Common Milkwort Polygala vulgaris are alternately arranged, unlike the similar looking Heath Milkwort which has its lower leaves in pairs. The leaves increase in size from the woody base towards the tip of the stem. Photo: Plantlife

Species spotlight. Marsh Arrowgrass - Triglochin palustris grows in damp vegetation usually on alkaline soils, & is slender & grass-like. Flowers are small, in a long spike. Fruits break up into 3 segments, unlike Sea Arrowgrass with fruits breaking up into 6. 📷: S. Shuttleworth

NPMS training North Wales 18th September in Bala, Gwynedd. Come along and learn all about how to get involved in botanical recording for the National Plant Monitoring Scheme. Still a few places available see our training events page for more details ow.ly/tUk650ZAUp2

Don't miss our autumn events! 2nd Sept NPMS habitat training 📍 Co. Antrim 17th Sept NPMS habitat training 📍Co. Derry 18th Sept Intro to NPMS survey methods 📍Bala, Gwynedd 8th Oct Digital plot creation & data entry 📍Online More info ow.ly/JmuQ50ZG4it

Species spotlight. Red Bartsia - Odontites vernus has very similar leaves to Yellow Rattle. To differentiate them when they are not flowering, look at the stems, which are often washed purple in Red Bartsia & lack the black streaks seen in Yellow Rattle. Photo: Ava Marley

Botanical Skills N.Ireland NPMS Habitat Training 2nd Sept Broughshane, Co. Antrim. Learn how to record plants, recognise NPMS habitats, set up survey plots & much more. An opportunity to ask questions about monitoring your own square. More info & booking ow.ly/59Js50ZAUjx

Botanical Skills N.Ireland NPMS Training 27th Aug Cookstown Co. Tyrone. Join this practical workshop for beginners, existing volunteers, or anyone interested in getting involved with the National Plant Monitoring Scheme (NPMS). More info & booking ow.ly/eRXG50ZAU4J

Species spotlight. Flowers of Hop Trefoil - Trifolium campestre may be differentiated from similar Lesser Trefoil by the standard petals, which are broad and flatter in Hop Trefoil but fold sharply downwards in Lesser Trefoil. Both ripen to hop-like heads. Photo: Ava Marley

We're in for yet more dry conditions please take care if you're out on your survey plots. Data will be important in showing the effect of this unprecedented summer on our plant communities, but please only head out if it's safe to do so and be alert to the risk of wildfires.

Species spotlight Common Meadow-rue - Thalictrum flavum is found on damp, alkaline soils. Frothy masses of tiny white flower heads are held above highly divided leaves. Flowers have many stamens, with long filaments & yellow anthers. Photo: Andrew Gagg

Look out for the reddish-purple flowers of Betony - Betonica officinalis on verges, grassy heaths & meadows this month. Two bluntly toothed leaves lie just below the spike of whorled flowers, angled downwards at 45°. Photo: Andrew Gagg

Species Spotlight Sea Aster Tripolium pannonicum grows in salt marshes & other brackish coastal environments. Two varieties occur, flowers of one resembling a Michaelmas Daisy with both yellow disc & blue ray florets, the other with yellow disc florets only. Photo: Ava Marley

Species Spotlight Lesser Butterfly Orchid - Platanthera bifolia has two strictly parallel pollinia in the centre of the flower, which are close together & about 2mm long, compared to the divergent, wider spaced & 3-4mm long pollinia in the Greater Butterfly Orchid. 📷 C Harris

Today is IUCN Bog Day recognising & celebrating brilliant bogs. Do you have bog & wet heath as habitats in your NPMS square? Get to know the features in our YouTube webinar recording with botanist Ben Averis ow.ly/Uigx50ZmRKg Photo: Michael Scott

Training day 13th August. Join Botanical Skills Northern Ireland Project at Derrymore Demesne (National Trust), Co. Armagh for an intro to the NPMS that will give you the skills & confidence to identify key habitats using plant indicator species. More info ow.ly/KXfP50ZmSqC