Bluebell

Bluebells are a genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, Hyacinthoides.

Bluebell
Hyacinthoides × massartiana
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Asparagaceae
Subfamily:	Scilloideae
Genus:	Hyacinthoides Heist. ex P. C. Fabricius
Type species
Hyacinthoides hispanica (Mill.) Rothm.
Synonyms [1]
Usteria Medik. Hylomenes Salisb. Hyacinthoides Medik. Endymion Dumort. Agraphis Link Lagocodes Raf. Somera Salisb. Apsanthea Jord. in Jordan & Fourreau

Colonel's Covert, East Leake, South Nottinghamshire

Bluebells are famous as indicator species (markers) for ancient woodland, where they carpet the forest floor in springtime. They grow in shade rather than in sunny areas.

Hyacinthoides is differentiated by the presence of two bracts at the base of each flower, rather than one bract per flower or no bracts in other closely-related genera.^[2]

Species

According to the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families as of July 2012^[update], the genus contains 11 species and one interspecific hybrid.^[3] Most species are distributed around the Mediterranean Basin, with only one species in northwestern Europe.^[4]