''Campanula americana'', the American bellflower, or tall bellflower, is a bellflower native to eastern

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. Tall bellflowers can be annual or biennial with a varying life-history with seeds germinating in the fall producing annual plants and spring-germinating seeds producing

biennial plants A biennial plant is a flowering plant that, generally in a temperate climate, takes two years to complete its biological life cycle. Life cycle In its first year, the biennal plant undergoes primary growth, during which its vegetative structures ...

. Long-tongued bees are the primary pollinators, including '' Megachile campanulae,'' but halictid bees, butterflies, and skippers may also act as pollinators. Tall Bellflowers do not generally self-pollinate. Some authorities, including the USDA PLANTS database, consider the name ''Campanulastrum americanum'' to be the accepted name for this species.

Description

Morphology

A large central flower stem shoots up from a basal rosette, that terminates in a

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

1/2-2' long, with the plant's overall height being 3-6'. The central stem is light green, slightly grooved, and hairy. The primary root system is a taproot. It has

alternate leaves Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

3-6" in length, that are lance-shaped to ovate-elliptic in shape, with rough/toothed edges. Tall bellflower flowers are light blue to violet with a pale white ring at the throat, which primarily bloom in July and August. It is an unusual bellflower in that its flowers are flat. Flowers are approximately 1" across. Its pistils have a recurved style and a three lobed

anther The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

and each flower has 5

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

, 5 petals, and 5

sepals A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

. The ovaries develop into 5 angled flat topped seed pods.

Distribution and habitat

Tall bellflowers grow from the Great Lakes region south to Florida and from the

Dakotas The Dakotas is a collective term for the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota. It has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and is still used for the collective heritage, culture, geography, fauna, sociology, econom ...

east to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. They thrive in partial shade and grow along woodland edges, in open woods, shaded meadows, streambanks and ditches.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q1877441, from2=Q58380375 americana Flora of North America Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus