Common Bluebell

Taxobox
name = Common Bluebell or English Bluebell


image_width = 250px
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Liliopsida
ordo = Asparagales
familia = Hyacinthaceae
genus = "Hyacinthoides"
species = "H. non-scripta"
binomial = "Hyacinthoides non-scripta"
binomial_authority = (L.) Chouard ex Rothm.

The Common Bluebell ("Hyacinthoides non-scripta", syn. "Endymion non-scriptus", "Scilla non-scripta") is a spring-flowering bulbous perennial plant.

Names

The traditional name of "non-script" was intended to distinguish this plant from the classical hyacinth. The classical hyacinth was a flower described in Greek mythology that sprang from the blood of the dying prince Hyacinthus. As a mark of his grief on the death of the prince, Apollo inscribed the letters "AIAI". The English Bluebell should not be confused with the Scottish bluebell or hairbell, Campanula rotundifolia.

Other names by which this plant is known are: Auld Man's Bell, Bluebell, Calverkeys, Culverkeys, English Bluebell, Jacinth, Ring-o'-Bells, Wilde Hyacint, and Wood Bells. [ [http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Hyacinthoides+nonscripta Plants For A Future Database] ]

Locations

The Common Bluebell flowers in April and May. The stems are 10-30 cm long and bend over at the top. The lavender-blue flowers are pendulous, bell-shaped and slightly fragrant. The anthers are yellowish-white.

In spring, many European woods are covered by dense carpets of this flower; these are commonly referred to as "bluebell woods". The bluebell that is the national flower of Scotland is not this species, but another unrelated plant "Campanula rotundifolia" also known as a Harebell.

It is common to find hybrids with the closely related Spanish Bluebell (a popular cultivated garden plant in Britain). There is concern that the native populations of "H. non-scripta" are endangered by this hybridisation. The hybrids may be distinguished by their broader, less pendulous flowers, often with darker anthers (pale purple in pure "H. hispanica") and broader leaves. Variations in colour occur, most usually pinkish or in a white variety, "H. non-scripta alba". [cite web | url = http://www.paghat.com/scilla_alba.html| title = White English Squill | accessdate = 2008-04-25]

Distribution

According to distribution data from Flora Europea the bluebell is endemic to Belgium, Great Britain, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal, and is also found in Germany, Italy, and Romania. [ [http://193.62.154.38/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Hyacinthoides&SPECIES_XREF=&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK= Flora Europaea on Bluebell] ] . It is being replaced in Spain and Portugal by the similar Spanish Bluebell "H. hispanica" and in Italy by the Italian Bluebell "H. italica".

Protection

In the United Kingdom the common bluebell is a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Landowners are prohibited from removing bluebells on their land for sale and it is a criminal offence to remove the bulbs of wild bluebells. This legislation was toughened up in 1998 under Schedule 8 of the Act: the trade in common bluebell bulbs or seeds is an offence. Thursford in East Anglia is a popular Bluebell reserve, and was subject to an act of vandalism in the mid 1990's, as reported on the magazine show "Look East". Luckily, no protected species were badly damaged in the attempt.

References

External links

* [http://www.the-tree.org.uk/EnchantedForest/WoodlandFlowers/bluebell.htm The-Tree.org: Bluebell] (includes key to identification of hybrids)
* [http://www.botanicalkeys.co.uk/flora/content/species.asp?510 British Wild Flowers: "Hyacinthoides non-scripta"]