Lots of plants start as rosettes so I wanted to show all the examples I've seen. Some are more rosette-like than others. I will be adding to this page as I see them or find my photos (challenging as I've taken so many).
Unknowns at the bottom
| Autumn Hawkbit | Scorzoneroides autumnalis |
| Beaked Hawk's-Beard | Crepis vesicaria |
| Black Medick | Medicago lupulina |
| Black Nightshade | Solanum nigrum |
| Bramble | Rubus |
| Bristly Oxtongue | Helminthotheca echioides |
| Broad-leaved Plantain | Plantago major |
| Buck's Horn Plantain | Plantago coronopus |
| Cabbage Thistle | Cirsium oleraceum |
| Cat's Ear | Hypochaeris radicata |
| Celery-Leaved Crowfoot | Ranunculus sceleratus |
| Charlock | Sinapsis arvensis |
| Claytonia / Winter purslane | Claytonia perfoliata |
| Coltsfoot | Tussilago farfara |
| Comfrey | Symphytum |
| Common Daisy | Bellis perennis |
| Common Knotgrass | Polygonum aviculare |
| Common Whitlowgrass | Draba verna |
| Common Stork's-bill | Erodium cicutarium |
| Creeping Buttercup | Ranunculus repens |
| Creeping thistle | Cirsium arvense |
| Creeping Yellowcress | Rorippa sylvestris |
| Jersey Cudweed | Pseudognaphalium luteoalbum |
| Dandelion | Taraxacum officinale |
| Danish scurvygrass | Cochlearia danica |
| Dock | Rumex |
| Dropwort | Filipendula vulgaris |
| Eastern Rocket | Sisymbrium orientale |
| Evening Primrose | Oenothera biennis |
| Forget-me-not | Mysotis |
| Fox-and-cubs | Pilosella aurantiaca |
| Foxglove | Digitalis |
| Fringecups | Tellima grandiflora |
| Garlic Mustard | Alliaria petiolata |
| Dove's-foot Crane's-bill/ Dovesfoot Geranium | Geranium molle |
| Globe Thistle | Echinops |
| Great Mullein | Verbascum thapsis |
| Greater Celandine | Chelidonium majus |
| Groundsel | Senecio vulgaris |
| Hawkweed | Hieracium |
| Hawkweed Ox-Tongue | Picris hieracioides |
| Hairy Bittercress | Cardamine hirsuta |
| Hedge Mustard | Sisymbrium officinale |
| Herb Robert | Geranium robertianum |
| Honesty | Lunaria annua |
| Hoary Mustard | Hirschfeldia incana |
| Horseweed | Erigeron canadensis |
| Ivy-leaved Speedwell | Veronica hederifolia |
| Greater Knapweed | Centaurea scabiosa |
| Knautia Macedonica | |
| Knotted Hedge Parsley | Torilis nodosa |
| Lesser Burdock | Arctium minus |
| Lesser Celandine | Ficaria verna |
| London Rocket | Sisymbrium irio |
| Mallow | Malva sylvestris |
| Marsh Yellow Cress | Rorippa palustris |
| Moth Mullein | Verbascum blattaria |
| Nettle-leaved Bellflower | Campanula trachelium |
| Nipplewort | Lapsana communis |
| Ox-eye Daisy | Leucanthemum vulgare |
| Pellitory-of-the-wall | Parietaria judaica |
| Greater / Broadleaf Plantain | Plantago major |
| Pineappleweed | Matricaria discoidea |
| Poppy | |
| Corn / Red / Field Poppy / Common | Papaver rhoeas |
| Long-Headed poppy | Papaver dubium |
| Perennial Sow-thistle | Sonchus arvensis |
| Prickly Sow Thistle | Sonchus asper |
| Ragwort | Senecio Jacobaea |
| Ribwort Plantain | Plantago lanceolata |
| Rosebay Willowherb | Chamaenerion angustifolium |
| Rue-Leaved Saxigrage | Saxifraga tridactylites |
| Salad Burnet | Sanguisorba minor |
| Small Scabious | Scabiosa columbaria |
| Scented-Leaf Pelargonium (aka Geranium) | |
| Sea Radish | Raphanus raphanistrum |
| Selfheal | Prunella vulgaris |
| Sheep's-bit | Jasione montana |
| Shepherd's Purse | Capsella bursa-pastoris |
| Smooth Sow Thistle | Sonchus oleraceus |
| Smooth Hawk's-beard | Crepis capillaris |
| Spear Thistle | Cirsium vulgare |
| Spotted Medick | Medicago arabica |
| Stone Parsley | Sison amomum |
| Sweet Rocket | Hesperis matronalis |
| Swine Cress | Lepidium coronopus |
| Teasel | Dipsacus fullonum |
| Thale Cress | Arabidopsis thaliana |
| Thistles | Cirsium vulgare, Cirsium arvense |
| Great Mullein | Verbascum thapsis |
| Verbascum | Verbascum blattaria |
| Viper's Bugloss | Echium vulgare |
| Wall Lettuce | Lactuca muralis |
| Wallflower | Erysimum |
| Annual Wall Rocket | Diplotaxis muralis |
| Water Figwort | Scrophularia auriculata |
| Wild Lettuce / Prickly Lettuce | Lactuca virosa / Lactuca serriola |
| Willowherb | Epilobium |
| Wood Avens | Geum urbanum |
| Woolly Thistle | Cirsium eriophorum |
| Yarrow | Achillea millefolium |
| unknown rosettes |
Autumn Hawkbit (Scorzoneroides autumnalis)
July 2024
Beaked Hawk's-Beard (Crepis vesicaria)
see more at Beaked Hawk's-Beard Rosettes as I have so many photos.
May 2024
same rosettes a month later June 2024
Black Medick (Medicago lupulina)
Black Nightshade (Solanum nigrum)
August 2024
Bristly Ox-tongue (Helminthotheca echioides)
I have other photos of Bristly Ox-tongue rosettes but this one was amazing. August 2019
July 2024
Broad-leaved Plantain (Plantago major)
July 2024
Buck's Horn Plantain (Plantago coronopus)
June 2024
this area near me at the edge of a business park had the most prolific buck's-horn plantain rosettes (above and below) of anywhere I've seen, sadly they didn't bloom as they were savagely mown down regularly although a few that had spread to the pavement did bloom (see my wildflower page) but sadly the area is now a building site
Cat's Ear and ragwort end of February 2019
cat's-ear
Celery-leaved Crowfoot (Ranunculus sceleratus)
left to right, honesty, comfrey, milk thistle
Common Daisy / Lawn Daisy (Bellis perennis)
this was at the bottom of this page as an unknown but seeing the one above in flower I'm pretty sure it's a daisy as well
Common Knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare)
not sure how rosette-like this is but vaguely it is a rosette
Common Stork's-bill (Erodium cicutarium)
March 2019 quite a small example
late summer stork's-bill rosette
mid-February
mid-February
Creeping Buttercup (Ranunculus repens)
Dec 2025
January 2025
this dock rosette is huge
Dropwort (Filipendula vulgaris)
I think, will observe to confirm
distinctive strong vein down the centre of the leaves
end of March
a younger example, end of February
a close-up of a foxglove showing the texture of the leaves
Fringecups (Tellima grandiflora)
Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata)
not sure how "rosette" it is but in February 2018 one of the few plants growing so it caught my eye
a more developed geranium molle end of January 2019
Great Mullein (Verbascum thapsis)
I never thought of greater celandine as starting with a rosette but this January example looks rosette-like to me.
a less-developed example 2020
May 2021
August 2024
Hawkweed Ox-Tongue (Picris hieracioides)
January 2019 I saw this at Rainham Marshes
I think this is hawkweed ox-tongue
March 2021
February 2019 I'm seeing a lot of hedge mustard rosettes but no plants in flower yet, too early for that.
March 2021
April 2023
March 2024
April 2024
I've seen a lot of hoary mustard and recently one with slightly different leaves which has inspired me to include more photos of the rosettes and their variations here.
January 2025
March 2019
this pedestrian bridge over the railway was a sheltered environment the hoary mustard (and some other plants) enjoyed
Nov 2020
Feb 2021
May 2020
Sept 2020
April 2020
hoary mustard basal rosettes often persist and are still present when the plant is flowering, as shown on these examples
Sept 2023
hoary mustard on the left, hawkweed oxtongue on the right
the same rosette a month later
another knautia rosette
I think this is knautia macedonica but I think other knautia initial rosettes are probably similar (eg knautia arvensis / field scabious)
Knotted Hedge Parsley (Torilis nodosa)
February 2019
Lesser Burdock (Arctium minus)
London Rocket (Sisymbrium irio)
Tower Hill, March 2023
Whitechapel, east London, May 2023
as are so many plants, quite variable, the first two photos are a plant I saw recently (29-4-2022) which I at first puzzled over but think it is nipplewort although different from the other examples here
Atlas Poppy (Papaver atlanticum)
I'm not sure if this is one rosette or more than one.
Corn / field / red poppy (Papaver rhoeas)
July 2024
bit different, assuming prickly sow thistle, not thistle
I saw this prickly sow thistle (I think) at Rainham Marshes January 2019
prickly sow thistle is quite variable, I saw this very different one a couple days ago (some flower bits dropped on it in the centre, ignore those)
early small ragwort rosette March 2017 on the patio next door
quite a small ragwort rosette March 2019 London NW1
large ragwort rosette at Rainham Marshes January 2019
a very small ragwort rosette I saw locally self-seeded in a pavement crack 9-2022
Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata)
both of these are July 2025
early March
late March
Salad Burnet (Sanguisorba minor)
April 2021
middle of February 2019
I think this is the same rosette, first of April 2019
a bud in the centre
Scented Leaf Pelargonium (aka Geranium)
sheep's-bit rosette first year, before flowering
sheep's-bit rosette second year after over-wintering
shepherd's-purse initial basal rosettes are extremely variable
Jan 2024
May 2019
April 2022
the rosette often persists through flowering
shepherds-purse on the left, swinecress on the right
I saw these 14-2-2019 along the Regent's Canal. Two main rosettes are shepherd's purse but on close examination I see a hedge mustard in between them to the left.
shepherd's purse on the left, hedge mustard on the right
shepherd's purse with a small hedge mustard to the left below and another growing amongst below
photo below: two lower rosettes shepherd's purse, rosette above left hedge mustard
shepherd's purse next two photos
the rosette still extant when in flower for this example, variable whether the rosette persists
January 2025
smooth sow thistle is quite variable, this one is quite small
July 2025
Seen in isolation the two plants below might both be identified as smooth sow thistle but right next to each other, it's clear they are different. I think the one on the left is shepherd's purse and on the right smooth sow thistle but I will keep and eye on them and take some better photos and confirm as they develop. Just down the road from me so should be feasible.
Smooth Hawk's-Beard (Crepis capillaris)
June 2021 a smooth hawk's-beard in bud with the rosette still present
Sept 2024 RSPB Rye Meads
January 2025
July 2024
Spotted Medick (Medicago arabica)
January 2025
January 2024
Swine Cress (Lepidium coronopus) / Lesser Swine Cress (Lepidium didymum)
without examining the fruits, I can't tell these apart
I saw this 4-1-2019
another rosette in the same area at the above, tiny buds in the centre
I saw the 3 swine cress rosettes above in the same place (Euston Road at Warren St) and that was the only place I'd seen swine cress until the other day when I saw these at a nearby park. This first one is a bit sparse and I thought it might be a buck's-horn plantain but looking more carefully I think it is swine cress but a very young less developed one.
this one is slightly more developed and more recognisable as swine cress, seen close to the one above
the first year, teasel starts as a low rosette
second year, the rosette is enormous
thale cress on the right, hairy bittercress on the left
I think this is a spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare).
this thistle has more pronounced spears than the one above which makes me wonder, is that spear
this is even hairier, natural variation? January 2019 Rainham Marshes
close-up of the thistle rosette above
a comparison of thistle leaves (2 kinds anyway), spear on the left, creeping on the right
moth mullein (Verbascum blattaria ) tall with white flowers
seen at RSPB Rye Meads Sept 2023
this verbascum rosette does look a bit like teasel but it's smooth and doesn't have the blisters, on March 20th (first day of Spring 2018) it has ice, we've had a bitter cold few days
verbascum seedlings
Great Mullein (Verbascum thapsis)
Viper's Bugloss (Echium vulgare)
September 2023
April 2017
October 2024
July 2024
Water Figwort (Scrophularia auriculata)
Dec 2025
Sept 2024
April 2019
Wild Lettuce or Prickly Lettuce, can be difficult to differentiate
January 2019 Rainham Marshes
January 2019 Rainham Marshes
July 2024
February 2019
possibly Verbascum virgatum
The below are in a church garden up the road, which unfortunately is locked sometimes so it may be difficult to follow up on these but I do hope to see them develop and flower this spring/summer and become identifible (also visible hairy bittercress, chickweed, petty spurge, oxalis and something I'm not sure of). Umbellifers - definitely something I need to come back to and I've seen recent examples which are more accessible
not sure how identifiable this is yet
close-up of this weed rosette -update- saw this round the corner, end of summer 2018 but it's gone now 2019 but pretty sure it was shepherd's purse
another view of that weed rosette showing to scale how small it is
In the back garden next door, I think this must be a knautia macedonia or a scabious, both of which I've grown from seed and purchased small plants. I maixqw entain some pots on the patio next door, inc knautia and scabious plants and sure seeds are spread from my garden there as well. Hopefully he won't mow the "lawn" before I see what happens with it. Very soft, definitely not a thistle. -update- it's gone now - no idea why as that area hasn't been mown but sure it was a knautia.
this could be prickly sow thistle, if it was in my garden I'd leave it and see how it develops but as I saw it on the pavement, no guarantees it will be left to grow
7
I saw this on St Pancras Way on the patch of ground where the buck's-horn plantain rosettes were, February 2019. Poppy?
end of March, at first glance I thought this was a thistle but it actually felt quite soft, I'll have to keep an eye on it to confirm one way or the other
