Letter: Rings a bluebell

YOU report on efforts to save the Scottish bluebell from the effects of interbreeding with Spanish relatives (2 November). This problem, if it is one, refers to hyacinths, which are called bluebells in England. The Scottish Bluebell, pre-anglicisation, is a different plant.

By The Newsroom

Published 3rd Nov 2010, 16:06 BST

Updated 3rd Nov 2010, 19:34 BST

It decorates the boxes of a well-known brand of matches. Once made in Scotland, these matches are now made in England but the Scottish bluebell on the box remains. In England the Scottish bluebell is known as a harebell. Whether it has Spanish cousins I do not know.

David Stevenson

Blacket Place

Edinburgh