Editing Hyacinthoides non-scripta (section)

==Uses==
[[File:Geopende zaaddoos van een wilde hyacint 24-07-2022. (d.j.b).jpg|thumb|left|200px|Opened seed pod with seeds inside]]
Bluebells have had numerous uses over the centuries. There is little evidence of widespread medicinal use, but the bulbs contain muselage and inulin, a starchy substance which was used as a glue for bookbinding. The Elizabethans also used the starch from the bluebell bulb to stiffen the fabrics of ruffs and collars.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Facts about bluebells {{!}} Nature |url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/discover/nature/trees-plants/a-guide-to-bluebells-in-the-uk |access-date=2024-06-26 |website=National Trust |language=en}}</ref>

Bluebells are widely planted as [[garden plant]]s, either among trees or in [[herbaceous border]]s.<ref name="Morris" /> They flower at the same time as [[hyacinth (plant)|hyacinths]], ''[[Narcissus (plant)|Narcissus]]'' and some [[tulip]]s.<ref name="Beresford">{{cite book |author=Diana Beresford-Kroeger |year=2004 |title=A Garden for Life: the Natural Approach to Designing, Planting, and Maintaining a North Temperate Garden |publisher=[[University of Michigan Press]] |isbn=978-0-472-03012-5 |chapter=''Hyacinthoides'' (''Scilla''), bluebells |page=181 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XFJ2OnvqAacC&pg=PA181|author-link=Diana Beresford-Kroeger }}</ref> They produce seed and [[vegetative reproduction|reproduce vegetatively]] using bulb offsets, so can spread rapidly, and may need to be controlled as [[weed]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/weeds/bluebells-as-weeds |title=Bluebells as weeds |publisher=[[Royal Horticultural Society]] |access-date=April 14, 2022}}</ref>

In common with other members of their genus, bluebells - particularly their bulbs - are normally considered to be toxic. Bluebells synthesise a wide range of chemicals with potential medicinal properties: they contain at least 15 biologically active compounds that may provide them with protection against insects and animals. Certain extracts – water-soluble [[pyrrolidine]] [[alkaloids]] – are similar to compounds tested for use in combating HIV and cancer.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/47711.stm |title=Bluebells could help fight cancer |work=[[BBC News]] |date=January 15, 1998 |access-date=March 24, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Michael Kent |title=Advanced Biology |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2000 |page=334 |isbn=978-0-19-914195-1}}</ref> The bulbs of bluebells are used in [[folk medicine]] as a remedy for [[leucorrhoea]], and as a [[diuretic]] or [[styptic]],<ref name="PFAF">{{cite web |url=http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Hyacinthoides+nonscripta |title=''Hyacinthoides nonscripta'' - (L.) Chouard. ex Rothm. |work=Plants for a Future |access-date=March 27, 2012}}</ref> while the sap can be used as an [[adhesive]].<ref name="Beresford"/><ref name="PFAF"/>