Bluebells are currently in bud in my garden and perhaps some of you will be lucky enough to see the first of them on your country woodland walks this Easter holiday. But would you be able to tell a native beauty from a Spanish imposter?
My thanks to the Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust for the following concise piece. http://www.bbowt.org.uk/blog/bbowtblog/2014/04/23/how-tell-difference-between-native-bluebell-and-spanish-bluebell
The UK is an international stronghold for bluebells, with more than a quarter of the world’s population found here. More than that, taking a walk through a sweet-smelling carpet of nodding bluebells is one of the definitive experiences of an English spring, and one that I look forward to every year.
Sadly, our native bluebell is losing ground to an insidious competitor: the Spanish bluebell. Introduced by the Victorians as a garden plant, the Spanish bluebell has made it ‘over the garden wall’ and out into the wild. Here, it crossbreeds with our native plants and produces fertile hybrids with a mix of characteristics.
You can use the information below to help you know what kind of bluebell you are looking at. If you see any of the characteristics of the Spanish bluebell then you are looking at a hybrid.
Hyacinthoides non-scripta – Native Bluebell – Photo by Philip Precey.
Distinctive ‘droop’ like the top of a shepherd’s crook
Sweet, cool perfume
Narrow bell-shaped flowers with rolled back tips
Creamy white pollen
Hyacinthoides hispanica – Spanish Bluebell – Photo by Richard Burkmar
Upright stems
No scent
Conical bell-shaped flowers with open tips
Blue pollen
The Spanish bluebell, commonly grown in our gardens, is more vigorous than our native species and can crossbreed with the native to create a fertile hybrid.
This is a problem, as crossbreeding dilutes the unique characteristics of our native bluebell.
In a recent study, conducted by Plantlife volunteers across the UK, one in six broadleaved woodlands surveyed were found to contain the hybrid or Spanish bluebell.
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Hopefully the above helps you know your onions. I should really be tearing up my inherited Hispanic friends and replacing them with our pretty natives but it will be a wrench. What will you be doing? Whatever it is, I wish you a lovely Easter weekend in the garden.
My thanks to the Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust for the following concise piece. http://www.bbowt.org.uk/blog/bbowtblog/2014/04/23/how-tell-difference-between-native-bluebell-and-spanish-bluebell
The UK is an international stronghold for bluebells, with more than a quarter of the world’s population found here. More than that, taking a walk through a sweet-smelling carpet of nodding bluebells is one of the definitive experiences of an English spring, and one that I look forward to every year.
Sadly, our native bluebell is losing ground to an insidious competitor: the Spanish bluebell. Introduced by the Victorians as a garden plant, the Spanish bluebell has made it ‘over the garden wall’ and out into the wild. Here, it crossbreeds with our native plants and produces fertile hybrids with a mix of characteristics.
You can use the information below to help you know what kind of bluebell you are looking at. If you see any of the characteristics of the Spanish bluebell then you are looking at a hybrid.
Photo by Philip Precey.
Hyacinthoides non-scripta – Native Bluebell
Distinctive ‘droop’ like the top of a shepherd’s crook
Sweet, cool perfume
Narrow bell-shaped flowers with rolled back tips
Creamy white pollen
Spanish bluebell
Spanish bluebells. Photo by Richard Burkmar
Hyacinthoides hispanica – Spanish Bluebell
Upright stems
No scent
Conical bell-shaped flowers with open tips
Blue pollen
The Spanish bluebell, commonly grown in our gardens, is more vigorous than our native species and can crossbreed with the native to create a fertile hybrid.
This is a problem, as crossbreeding dilutes the unique characteristics of our native bluebell.
In a recent study, conducted by Plantlife volunteers across the UK, one in six broadleaved woodlands surveyed were found to contain the hybrid or Spanish bluebell.
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