Sunlight filters between the newly unfurled tender green leaves of beech, oak, and ash. The air is heavy with the scent of Hyacinthoides non-scripta, the English bluebell, which covers the woodland floor like a blanket from late April into May.
There are approximately nine varieties of bluebell, but the United Kingdom is home to roughly half of the world’s bluebell population. This iconic springtime flower can take five to seven years to develop from seed into a bulb, then bloom into the flower most people know. They are a protected species, and there is a heavy fine for anyone found digging them up. It is also a surprisingly delicate plant. If careless footsteps crush the leaves, they can no longer photosynthesize and will die back from lack of nutrition. Some bluebells can be white or pink. Often a white bluebell is lacking its blue pigment, or it may be a version of the Spanish bluebell.
In Scotland, bluebells are known as harebells because folklore has it that witches turned into hares and hid amongst the flowers. That could be why it is sometimes known as Witches Thimble or Lady’s Nightcap. You may also have heard the folksong, The Bluebells of Scotland. If not, check out this YouTube clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq14cPI0LW8. The bluebell is reputed to ring at daybreak to call fairies to the woods. If you pick a bluebell, those fairies could lead you astray, and you would be lost forever, so best not to pick them just to be on the safe side.
Symbolically, bluebells represent grace, everlasting love, good fortune, and truth. They epitomize Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty, and the Virgin Mary who represents calm and peace. They were also once dedicated to the patron saint of England, St. George. Bluebells stand for constancy, humility, and gratitude in the centuries-old language of flowers used throughout Europe and Asia. Might Shakespeare have been referring to the bluebell when he wrote of 'the azured hare-bell?'
Bluebells also have their practical uses. The
Elizabethans used starch from the bulbs to stiffen their ruffs. Gum from the
roots was used as glue for feathers and in bookbinding. Snake bites supposedly could
be cured by their juice, although the plant’s chemical makeup is potent and can
be toxic in large doses. Today bluebells inspire the perfume for hand creams and
soap and are used as dyes or pigments.
Whichever way you look at it, whether you
believe in witches and fairies or not, there is nothing more magical than sitting
in an English bluebell wood in springtime.
Victoria Chatham
NB: Images from author's collection.
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