BellFlower

BellFlower — Campanula is one of several genera of in the family Campanulaceae with the common name bellflower. It takes its name from their bell-shaped flowers, and campanula is Latin for “little bell”.

The genus includes about 300 species and several subspecies, distributed across the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest diversity in the Mediterranean region east to the Caucasus.

The species include annual, biennial and perennial plants, and vary in habit from dwarf arctic and alpine species under 5 cm high, to large temperate grassland and woodland species growing to 2 m tall.

The leaves are alternate, sessile, and often vary in shape on a single plant, with larger, broader leaves at the base of the stem and smaller, narrower leaves higher up; the leaf margin may be either entire or serrated (sometimes both on the same plant). Many species contain white latex in the leaves and stems. The flowers are produced in panicles (sometimes solitary), and have a bell-shaped, five-lobed corolla, typically large (2-5 cm or more long), mostly blue to purple, sometimes white or pink. The fruit is a capsule containing numerous small seeds.

Well-known species include the northern European Campanula rotundifolia, commonly known as Harebell in England and Bluebell in Scotland, and the southern European Campanula medium, commonly known as Canterbury Bells, which is a cultivated garden plant in the United Kingdom. As well as several species occurring naturally in the wild in northern Europe, there are many cultivated garden species. The species Campanula rapunculus, commonly known as Rampion Bellflower, Rampion, or Rover Bellflower, is an annual vegetable and a popular garden plant, though sometimes considered too invasive. There are blue, purple and white varieties. The Brothers Grimm’s tale Rapunzel gave its name to this plant.

Campanula species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Common Pug (recorded on Harebell), Dot Moth, Ingrailed Clay (recorded on Harebell), Lime-speck Pug and Mouse Moth.