Fascinating Facts about..
Bluebells
Scientific name: Hyacinthoides non-scriptus The bluebell blooms from the beginning of April to the end of May.
Bluebells are found throughout the British Isles in woods and hedgerows.
They are a classic species of old woodland.
Britain is one of the world’s strongholds for the bluebell and we are lucky to have many bluebell woods left, especially in Cheshire. The April/May spectacle of seeing a wood not only greening, but also”blueing” is one of the joys of the year.
Bluebells are a protected species. It is illegal to dig them up or pick them.
It takes at least five years for a seed to grow into a bulb.
Bluebells are an important early food flower forr bees, hoverflies and butterflies which feed on nectar.
Honey bees can steal the nectar by biting a hole in the bottom of the bell, reaching the nectar without pollinating the flower.
There are 2 forms of Bluebell in Cheshire - the original, native English bluebell and the introduced Spanish bluebell. The Spanish bluebell was introduced by gardeners and has appeared in our woods and along country lanes. It forms hybrids with English bluebells. This is bad news as in time we may loose our native English bluebell entirely.
The original English bluebell is more delicate, the flower stalk bends over, the flower bells tend to be on one side of the stalk only, the bells are a deep blue colour, and the open end of the bell is slightly flared with a narrowing behind the flare. The stamens are white.
Spanish bluebells are stronger, with an upright flower-stalk, the flower bells are produced all round the stem and the bells are a paler blue often with even paler stripes, and the bells flare much more widely.
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