Wildlife: A Spotlight On Bluebells

Blessed with woodlands, the coming of the bluebells is always one of Surrey’s seasonal highlights. Claire Gibbs, senior ecologist at Surrey Wildlife Trust, shares their story.

- Anne Bronte

NOT many wildlife spectacles can beat the overwhelming beauty of swathes of violet bluebells under the pale green of newly opened leaves.

It can be argued that the British Isles are the true home of the bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) as, although the species is native to the mild, damp reaches of Atlantic Europe, including north-western Spain, Belgium and France, it reaches its highest densities here. Indeed, the UK is home to almost half the world’s population. Although a relatively common sight in Britain, woodland ground flora dominated by bluebells never loses its power to take the breath away.