Bluebell

The tips of the English Bluebell's flowers revolute, meaning they roll back from the tip.

Species introduction

At a glance
Latin name: 
Hyacinthoides non-scripta
Family: 
Asparagus and allies
Family Latin name: 
ASPARAGACEAE
Category: 
Flowering Plants
Vernacular names: 

Granfer Griggles, Crow's toes

Species description

Species description

Native English bluebells (as opposed to the hybrid 'Spanish Bluebell') can still be found, often forming extensive carpets in deciduous woodlands. More frequently, their place is being taken by the Spanish Bluebell, which is certainly the case in the Cemetery. The (non-Spanish, English) Bluebell flowers from just one side of the stem. Spanish ones have flowers from all sides. Their flowers also have parallel sides, whereas those of the Spanish variety splay out. The flower heads of English Bluebells droop much more than those of the Spanish. Ultimately, there is the sniff test that can be applied because Spanish Bluebells have no scent. Finally, the tips of the English Bluebell's flowers revolute, meaning they roll back from the tip. These differences can be hard to discern. However, we can be sure that several individual Bluebell plants in the Cemetery are of the English type, as a few have been bought from specialist supplies and reintroduced. These Native bluebells are protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981.

The Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta - but not the Spanish Bluebell) is protected under Schedule 8 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act, 1981.

Species photographs

Larger photograph(s) (click to magnify)
The tips of the English Bluebell's flowers revolute, meaning they roll back from the tip.
A rare mutation causes Bluebells to emerge as white Bluebells.
The (non-Spanish, English) Bluebell flowers from just one side of the stem. Spanish ones have flowers from all sides. Their flowers also have parallel sides, whereas those of the Spanish variety splay out. The flower heads of English Bluebells droop much more than those of the Spanish. Finally, the tips of the English Bluebell's flowers revolute, meaning they roll back from the tip.

Details

Species family information

This is a huge, diverse family that includes a number of familiar garden bulb cultivars.

Category information

Nucleic multicellular photosynthetic organisms lived in freshwater communities on land as long ago as a thousand million years, and their terrestrial descendants are known from the late Pre-Cambrian 850 million years ago. Embryophyte land plants are known from the mid Ordovician, and land plant structures such as roots and leaves are recognisable in mid Devonian fossils. Seeds seem to have evolved by the late Devonian. The Embryophytes are green land plants that form the bulk of the Earth’s vegetation. They have specialised reproductive organs and nurture the young embryo sporophyte. Most obtain their energy by photosynthesis, using sunlight to synthesise food from Carbon Dioxide and Water.

The earliest known plant group is the Archaeplastida, which were autotrophic. Listing just the surviving descendants, which evolved in turn, we have the Red Algae, the Chlorophyte Green Algae, the Charophyte Green Algae, and then the Embryophyta or land plants. The earliest embryophytes were the Liverworts, followed by the Hornworts, and the Mosses. Then we have the Vascular Plants, the Lycophytes and Ferns, followed by the Spermatophytes or seed plants, the Gnetophytes, Conifers, Ginkgos, and Cycads, and finally the Magnoliophyta (Angiosperms) or flowering plants.

Protections

Legal protections and status
Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981