Identifying English and Spanish bluebells
Where we are in Bristol, the bluebells are in full bloom and we've enjoyed seeing beautiful carpets of blue in some of our nearby woods. Both English and Spanish bluebells are commonly found growing in mass in the UK and it's fun to identify which bluebells are native, English bluebells and which are their Spanish cousins. The English bluebell is an ancient-woodland-indicator-plant so if you spot it while you're out exploring, it could be mean you're standing in ancient woodland! Below are some tips to help you identify them.
English bluebells
English bluebells have:
A drooping, curved stem
Deep blue flowers that are tubular in shape and have rolled back tips
Flowers mostly on one side of the stem
A sweet scent
Narrow leaves, 1-1.5 cm wide
Cream-coloured pollen
Spanish bluebells
Spanish bluebells have:
An upright stem
Pale blue, conical flowers with tips that spread out rather than curl back
Flowers all around the stem
No scent
Broad leaves, around 3 cm wide
Blue-coloured pollen
Still not sure?
Many of the bluebells in UK woods are now hybrids of Spanish and English bluebells, showing a whole range of mixed features from both species. The hybrids are actually more abundant than Spanish bluebells now!
Look after our bluebells
If walking through an area where there are English bluebells, please do stick to the paths. Bluebell colonies take a long time to establish – around five to seven years from seed to flower - and the flowers can take years to recover after footfall damage. If a bluebell’s leaves are crushed, they die back from lack of food as the leaves cannot photosynthesise.
Native bluebells are also protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981 which means that digging up the plant or bulb in the countryside is prohibited.
Author: Denise Hope, home educating mum of two boys