Wildlife
Common bluebells are anything but ordinary, with a spring woodland carpeted in masses of bluebells a sight to behold. This spectacular botannical display is only found in northern Europe, with Britain containing more than half of the worlds population. Common bluebells are a protected species in the UK. The main threats to their survival is people picking the flowers and illegally digging up the bulbs. Hybrid bluebell species, because of crossing with the Spanish bluebell, are also a major problem.
Did you know?
Britain is home to more than half of the world's population of bluebells.
See the UK's spectacular bluebell blooms.
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Boars and blooms
Wild garlic and bluebells carpet a woodland and prove tempting to wild boar.
Wild garlic and bluebells carpet a woodland and prove tempting to wild boar.
Spring spectacular
No country in the world shares a wildflower spectacle like the bluebells.
No country in the world shares a wildflower spectacle like the bluebells.
Skomer bluebells
Spring time on Skomer, and the island is covered in beautiful bluebells.
Spring time on Skomer, and the island is covered in beautiful bluebells.
Woodland spectacle
The bluebell spectacle is a snapshot into the UK's ancient past.
The bluebell spectacle is a snapshot into the UK's ancient past.
Bluebell legends
Bluebells are known as fairy flowers and have a sinister folklore.
Bluebells are known as fairy flowers and have a sinister folklore.
The Common bluebell can be found in a number of locations including: Europe, United Kingdom, Wales, Ynys-hir nature reserve. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.
The following habitats are found across the Common bluebell distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.
Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
Hyacinthoides non-scripta (formerly Endymion non-scriptus or Scilla non-scripta) is a bulbous perennial plant, found in Atlantic areas from north-western Spain to the British Isles, and also frequently used as a garden plant. It is known in English as the common bluebell or simply bluebell, a name which is used in Scotland to refer to the harebell, Campanula rotundifolia. In spring, H. non-scripta produces a nodding, one-sided inflorescence of 5–12 tubular, sweet-scented violet–blue flowers, with strongly recurved tepals, and 3–6 long, linear, basal leaves.
H. non-scripta is particularly associated with ancient woodland where it may dominate the understorey to produce carpets of violet–blue flowers in "bluebell woods", but also occurs in more open habitats in western regions. It is protected under UK law, and in some other parts of its range. A related species, H. hispanica has also been introduced to the British Isles and hybridises with H. non-scripta to produce intermediates known as H. × massartiana.
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Oak wood
Beech wood
Hedgerows
Parkland
Broadleaf forest
