Wild Wednesday - Bluebell
It’s bluebell time in ancient woodlands where you might be lucky to find a gorgeous purple glow in this wildflower spectacle - a beautiful sight this time of year and a sure sign that spring is here.
Bluebells are perennials, meaning they flower annually, spending the spring lapping up energy from the sun, storing in their bulb over winter, all ready to bloom again next year.
Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it’s against the law to pick, uproot or destroy bluebells in the wild – so don’t step on them! They have soft, succulent leaves that are particularly sensitive to being trodden on, and if the leaves get damaged they are unable to absorb the sun and photosynthesise (the process by which plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to create oxygen and energy in the form of sugar) so they will sadly die.
Some interesting information about bluebells:
- If you dig up and sell a wild bluebell you can be fined £5000 per bulb
- It take at least five years for a bluebell seed to grow into a bulb
- Bees are known to ‘steal the nectar from the flower by biting a hole in the bottom of the bell
- Lacking the blue pigment, there are rare 'albino' bluebells which are white
- They are also know as ‘fairy flowers’ – in folklore, bluebells were said to ring when fairies were summoning a group to a gathering; but if a human heard the sound, it would be their imminent death call. Unsurprisingly, it was considered unlucky to trample on a bed of bluebells, because you would anger the fairies resting there!
- The bluebell is a symbol of humility, gratitude and everlasting love, in the language of flowers. It is said that if you turn a bluebell flower inside-out without tearing it, you will win the one you love, and if you wear a wreath of bluebells you will only be able to speak the truth
Click here for bluebell walks in Sussex: Into the Blue - Bluebell Woods in Sussex (hellosussex.com)
Please hurry, before they disappear until next spring!
Read more here: Facts about bluebells | Nature | National Trust