''Campanula alpestris'', the alpine bellflower, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the family

Campanulaceae The family Campanulaceae (also bellflower family), of the order Asterales, contains nearly 2400 species in 84 genera of herbaceous plants, shrubs, and rarely small trees, often with milky sap. Among them are several familiar garden plants belo ...

. It is native to the southwestern European

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...

. The generic name (''Campanula'') comes from the shape of a bell flower; in particular, the word comes from Latin and means: small bell. From the records it shows that the first to use the botanical name of "Bellflower" was the Belgian naturalist Rembert Dodoens, who lived between 1517 and 1585. This name was still in use for some time, although modified, in many European languages. In fact, in these plants they were archaic French "Campanelles" calls (today we say "Campanules" or "Clochettes"), while in German are called "Glockenblumen" and in English "Bell-flower" or "Blue-bell". In Italian they are called "bells". All these forms that derive from the Latin language course. The specific name (''alpestris'') refers the typical habitats of these plants; in particular it refers to the lowest mountain areas where the vegetation is influenced by the foothills. The scientific name of the species was defined for the first time by the Italian botanist and physician Carlo Allioni in the publication ''Auctarium ad Synopsim Methodicam Stirpium Horti Reg. Taurinensis - 11'' and later in ''Flora Pedemontana sive Enumeratio Methodica Stirpium Indigenarum Pedemontii - 113. t. 6. f. 3.''.

References

alpestris Plants described in 1773 Alpine flora Taxa named by Carlo Allioni {{Campanulaceae-stub