Bluebells on the Bridgewater!

This Bluebell is growing out of the side of the Bridgewater canal.

In Britain and probably elsewhere there has been extensive hybridisation with the introduced Hyacinthoides hispanica producing fertile seeds. This has produced hybrids that are able to thrive in a wider range of environmental conditions, the hybrids are frequently out-competing the native Bluebells. Hybrids show a great range of characteristics and any one of the following features indicates some hybridisation:

* Stems upright and not nodding
* Flowers borne on more than one side of the flowing stem
* The flower is more open and bell-shaped and does not have a long and
more-or-less parallel sided tube
* The anthers, at least when young, are blue or cyan and not white or cream
* The leaves are broader
* The scent is less strong and less sweet.