Bluebell woods under threat, experts warn
The sight of woodlands carpeted in blue petals may be denied to walkers within 20 years as the British landscape changesBluebell woods are one of the magical events of an English spring, with their carpeting of blue petals and enchanting scent – but within 20 years this experience may be denied to future woodland ramblers, experts warned on Thursday.Mark Ballard, curator of the Forestry Commission's National Arboretum at Westonbirt, said: "Within the next two decades it will become much rarer for people to see a native bluebell wood. They are under threat and the British landscape, however beautiful, is changing."The blanket of intense blue flowers, with their distinctive perfume, has for centuries been a source of captivation for springtime wanderers in the countryside, but is under threat from pollution, the encroachment of urbanisation – and above all the invasion by non-native Spanish bluebell varieties, which are less colourful, less prolific...