THE poet Gerard Manley Hopkins eloquently described the wonders of a woodland floor carpeted by bluebells as having a “blue buzzed-haze” and “wafts of intoxicant perfume”.

It was a flower that totally captivated him and held him in such star-struck awe that on another occasion he wrote “….they came in falls of sky-colour washing the brows and slacks of the ground with vein-blue”.

It is easy to understand Hopkins’ obsession with the bluebell, for it is indeed one of our most attractive wildflowers. To walk through the glory of a richly scented bluebell wood in late spring is one of life’s great natural experiences with its sea of shimmering azure. Often known as the wild hyacinth in Scotland, the bluebell in the past was also commonly referred to as ‘crow’s toes’, probably because of the shape of the long, strap-shaped leaves.

The world distribution of our native bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) is restricted to the fringes of western and north-western Europe. It is a specialised plant that thrives in the damp and changeable climate of the Atlantic edge. Typically found in broadleaved woodland and hedgebanks, the bluebell is one of our most familiar and cherished wildflowers. One of the best places to see bluebells in this part of the world is Dollar Glen, where they thrive on the sunny west facing slopes.

But behind the seemingly tranquil scene of a flourishing bluebell wood lies an insidious threat in the shape of an Iberian invader, the Spanish bluebell. This species (Hyacinthoides hispanica) and the hybrid bluebell (a cross between the Spanish and native bluebell) are commonly grown in our gardens. A native to Portugal and western Spain, the Spanish bluebell was first introduced into British gardens around 1680 because it can grow almost anywhere and has larger blooms. Both the Spanish and hybrid varieties are more vigorous than our native species and, once out in the wild, can crossbreed with native bluebells. This creates a problem as crossbreeding dilutes the unique characteristics of our native plants.

Our native bluebells face other threats too such as the loss of woodland habitats and the illegal collection of bulbs. It would be a pity if our bluebell woods were to diminish in any form because this remarkable plant is a key hallmark of the British countryside. Let us hope that that the ‘blue buzzed-haze’ remains a common sight for many more generations to come.