Bluebell

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

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

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]

1. ↑ Michael Grundmann; Fred J. Rumsey; Stephen W. Ansell; Stephen J. Russell; Sarah C. Darwin; Johannes C. Vogel; Mark Spencer; Jane Squirrell; Peter M. Hollingsworth; Santiago Ortiz; Harald Schneider (2010). "Phylogeny and taxonomy of the bluebell genus Hyacinthoides, Asparagaceae [Hyacinthaceae]". Taxon. 59 (1): 68–82. doi:10.1002/tax.591008.
2. ↑ Stace, Clive A. 2010 (2010). "Asparagaceae – asparagus family". New Flora of the British Isles (3rd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 914–923. ISBN 978-0-521-70772-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)