Blue bells??

[wildherbalian85]

Not so sure and the picture quality isnt great but i think these are blue bells??
Are they?



a slightly better picture of the flowers.

[Bub-les]

They're not the English bluebell they are the Spanish ones also known as wild hyacinth
Barbara

[wildherbalian85]

Originally Posted by Bub-les

They're not the English bluebell they are the Spanish ones also known as wild hyacinth
Barbara

But it is a native to our shores?

Just that i have found them growing wild in several locations. We have some blue bells at the bottom of our garden but these are smaller.

[Bub-les]

Its not a native but it is naturalised.
Quote from The Natural History Museum
"Origin and Distribution
Spanish Bluebell is a native of Spain, Portugal and North Africa. Spanish bluebells are mainly found in the vicinity of villages, towns and cities. They are frequent in churchyards, cemeteries, parks and gardens, they also occur as either escapes or "throw-outs" alongside road-verges, wastelands, hedgerows and woodland borders. The distribution of this Bluebell is not accurately known but it appears to be infrequent in upland areas, particularly in Scotland. Due to past confusion, many earlier records for this plant may be Hybrid Bluebell."
Hope that helps

[PeterJL]

Quote from The Plant Crib by Tim Rich and Clive Jermy:

The majority of blubells grown in gardens and consequently found naturalised are hybrid Spanish bluebells.......True H hispanica (Spanish Bluebell) is not often seen.

The photos you have posted are very likely to be Hyacinthoides x massartiana.

[wildherbalian85]

Well what i can say is the ones in the picture (plus more) were growing on a patch of isolated heath/ scrub land right next to the sea. I know this land hasn't been developed on because it about 20 meters away from a firing range. The other location is though close to gardens.

The plants were about 75cm in hight (possibly a meter)

[PeterJL]

Hyacinthoides non scripta ("British" Bluebell) has a one sided spike of dark blue bells which have parallel sides.

The hybrid bluebells flower all round the stem and have bells which tend to open out at the end. The hybrid bluebell gets everywhere these days and is found a long way from gardens. The hybrid bluebell also has wide leaves and the British much narrower.

[wildherbalian85]

Originally Posted by PeterJL

Hyacinthoides non scripta ("British" Bluebell) has a one sided spike of dark blue bells which have parallel sides.

The hybrid bluebells flower all round the stem and have bells which tend to open out at the end. The hybrid bluebell gets everywhere these days and is found a long way from gardens. The hybrid bluebell also has wide leaves and the British much narrower.

Ahh cool, so its not a true native but an imposter.

[hobble]

I have pink, white, purple and blue bluebells. They look like the Spanish ones but are a mixture colours. Are these hybrids of the Spanish Bluebell?

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by wildherbalian85

.............The plants were about 75cm in hight (possibly a meter)

That's very tall for any Hyacinthoides unless the soil had been fed/manured.... and if the soil has been 'improved' then who knwos what might have got in ther ......