Bluebells, with their characteristics scent and nodding blooms are almost synonymous with British woods in April and May…. but in many places the blue bell in front of you might be an ‘over the garden wall’ invader.
British soil is thought to be home to around half of the world’s population of Common Bluebell and it’s spawned some brilliant folklore and historical uses.
The sticky gummy sap has been used since at least the Stone age as a glue for fletching arrows with feathers, then later as a glue for binding books (toxic to some book eating bugs) and even stiffening the ruffs of Tudor aristocrats.
The toxins in the bulb are showing some promise against cancer cells, and historically it has been a kill or cure remedy for leprosy and snake venom.
Folkloricly speaking, the bluebell has strong associations with the fairies and there’s a few tales of children picking bluebells in the wrong spot of the woods and never being seen again. I suspect this is more a tale shared to prevent the picking of bluebells due to their poisonous nature.
Perhaps wearing a garland of bluebells while trying to tell the story would show if it were a lie, as it is said that no untrue words can be spoken when so adorned.
The bells can also be heard in faery woods, where they ring to call the fey folk to gather… but be warned! If you, as a human, hear the bells ringing you might well be visited by a malicious fairy, possibly bringing your death.
There is of course much more folklore to work through, but this blog is about the plants themselves, so I must apologise for digressing so.
Hyacinthoides non-scripta, the English/ common/ fairy/ British/ wood bluebell is a charming and dainty plant, yet in true fairy related form it is more than happy to be promiscuous with it’s Spanish cousin. Sadly, though this is leading towards the end of our native bluebell populations.
There are two recognised species of bluebells in the UK; the native Hyacinthoides non-scripta and the Spanish Hyacinthoides hispanica. They however do not act like separate species and may infact be simply distinct populations, naturally separated by landscape until brought in to UK gardens by Victorian horticulturists.
The definition of a species is fraught with conflict, but at it’s simplest it is a group of organisms that can reproduce naturally with one another and create fertile offspring.
Both types of bluebells frequently hybridize and the resultant hybrids can go on to produce viable seeds with either parent species, or, other hybrids.
The black seeds of both produce contractile roots before the first frost that pulls the seed down to the correct depth. It takes around 5 years from germination to flowering.
So how do you tell the species apart from each other and from the hybrids? Let’s take a look at the easy differences and the considerations.
Flower shape – the flowers of the native bluebell are slender, tubular and much longer than they are wide. The ends of the petals are often slightly fluted outwards but never gratuitously so.
The flowers of the Spanish bluebell are much less tubular, often as wide as they are long and the petals often bend outwards from about half way down the length.
Hybrids vary but often have a mixed style flower, with wide bells and long petals rather than tubular and dainty flowers.
Flower colour – in Hyacinthoides non-scripta the majority of flowers are a deep blue with little variation over the surface of the petals. The developing buds often look much paler as they grow a bit faster than the pigment is produced. Occasionally a white form will appear, but these are rare in purely native populations.
Hyacinthoides hispanica, in comparison, is a colour collector. It’s not unusual to see dark blue, light blue, white, darker pink, pale pink and the mid rib of the petals often varies in shade from the rest of it.
Hybrids can throw up even more colours and variations. A bit of genetic freedom apparently encourages nature’s artistry.
Leaves – native plants have fine strips of leaves that rarely grow wider than 1.5 – 2cm and tend to be a lush dark green
Spanish plants have much wider leaves 3 – 5cm wide. These are often a paler green than the natives and the midrib often looks paler still. These wider leaves enable more light to be absorbed and so improves the rate of photosynthesis thereby increasing vigour and encouraging the dominance of these plants.
Hybrid plants show a variety of leaf shapes and widths but most tend towards the wider and paler strap like leaves.
Scent – there is a characteristic sweet scent to the native Hyacinthoides non-scripta that is pretty much absent in the hybrid and definitely absent in the Spanish population.
This is one ofnthe great losses that the British countryside could suffer. The loss of such a cloud of rich scent in the late spring woods is a travesty to be avoided.
Stamen colour – stamens are the pollen carrying organs of the floral structure. In native plants the pollen should look a creamy white, while in hispanica plants the pollen will have a green or pale blue tint.
Hybrids can show either cream, white, green or blue pollen depending upon the particular genes they received.
Stems – one of the easiest, at a glance methods of judging the likely species is to look at the flowering stems.
Native bluebells have a slender, arching flower stem with all the flowers hanging to one side.
Spanish bluebells have thicker, upright stems with flowers on more than one side.
Hybrids often show a more Spanish stem, but some will present as thinner or slightly curving.
In some areas studies show that, even in ancient woodland, the majority of bluebells are hybridised, or show some hybridisation. It may be too late to prevent a loss of scented woodland in April and May, but then some studies show a lower rate of fertility in the Spanish incomers
As such there may yet come a resurgence of British bluebell genes and the scents we associate with them, even if there’s a bit of Spanish flair in the wider population.
I must admit that I do have a soft spot for the hybrids and their delicious range of colours and variable natures. Perhaps a bit of flair would be ok, if the scent held true too.
Druid of Manannan 
Great botanical study. Have, unfortunately, been removing Hyacinthoides hispanica from my garden this year…
Thank you. It’s a shame to lose such flowers, but if you’re anywhere near a wild population of natives it’s probably a good idea.