''Campanula rapunculoides'', known by the common names creeping bellflower, rampion bellflower, rover bellflower, garden bluebell, creeping bluebell, purple bell, garden harebell, and creeping campanula, is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

plant of the genus ''

Campanula ''Campanula'' () is one of several genera of flowering plants in the family Campanulaceae commonly known as bellflowers. They take both their common and scientific names from the bell-shaped flowers — ''campanula'' is Latin for "little bell" ...

'', belonging to 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 belon ...

. Native to central and southern Europe and west Asia,Handbook of the British flora: a description of ..., Volume 2; Volume 1865 By George Bentham
/ref>. in some parts of North America it is an extremely invasive species.

Etymology

The genus Latin name ("campanula"), meaning 'small bell', refers to the bell-shape of the flower, while the specific name ("rapunculoides") refers to the similarity to ''

Campanula rapunculus ''Campanula rapunculus'', common name rampion bellflower, rampion, rover bellflower, or rapunzel, is a species of bellflower (''Campanula'') in the family Campanulaceae. This species was once widely grown in Europe for its leaves, which were us ...

''.

Description

Campanulaceae - Campanula rapunculoides-4

''Campanula rapunculoides'' reaches on average of height, with a maximum of . The stem is simple, erect and lightly

pubescent The adjective pubescent may describe: * people or animals undergoing puberty * plants that are hairy, covered in trichomes * insects that are covered in setae In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for "bristle") are any of a ...

and the leaves are usually shortly hairy. The

basal leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

are triangular, narrow, with a heart-shaped or rounded base, jagged edges and are up to long. The upper stem leaves are

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

, lanceolate, and shortly stalked. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

consists of nodding spikelike

racemes 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 ...

with numerous drooping flowers. The flowers are bright blue-violet (rarely white), long, with short petioles standing to one side in the

axils A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

of the

bracts In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

. The bracts are quite different and smaller than the leaves. The

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 ...

are lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, entire, wide at the base up to . The corolla is bell-shaped, with five deep lobes slightly

ciliate The ciliates are a group of alveolates characterized by the presence of hair-like organelles called cilia, which are identical in structure to flagellum, eukaryotic flagella, but are in general shorter and present in much larger numbers, with a ...

. The flowering period extends from June through September. The flowers are pollinated by insects (bees, flies, butterflies, etc.) (

entomophily Entomophily or insect pollination is a form of pollination whereby pollen of plants, especially but not only of flowering plants, is distributed by insects. Flowers pollinated by insects typically advertise themselves with bright colours, some ...

). The fruit is a capsule with five pores near the base, where the seeds are spread. The plant seeds abundantly (each plant can produce 15,000 seeds), and while some roots come out when it is pulled, the horizontal

stolon In biology, stolons (from Latin '' stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as runners, are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external s ...

s grow vertical storage tubers, which may not be anywhere near the surface portions of the plant. These storage tubers can regrow stolons, which in turn send up shoots at some distance from the storage tubers. This plant has its overwintering buds situated just below the soil surface ( hemicryptophyte). It spreads by underground

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

s and produces deep,

taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproo ...

-shaped

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing ...

s. Both are white and fleshy. Because any piece of the roots can sprout into a new plant, it is extremely hard to eradicate.

Distribution

This plant is native to Europe and western Siberia, where it grows in semi-shaded areas like open woods, the edges of denser forests, and meadowland. It has been introduced to North America, where it has become an extremely invasive weed; it chokes out other plants, and eliminating it is nearly impossible due to its multiple propagation mechanisms. Like many related ''

'' species and more distant relatives, it is edible and was historically grown for food. The roots, shoots, and leaves are all edible. The roots can be eaten raw or cooked, and the upper parts are mild-flavoured; indeed rather bland, commonplace, and somewhat chewy-leaved; the basal leaves are often cooked as a

pot herb Leaf vegetables, also called leafy greens, pot herbs, vegetable greens, or simply greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. Leaf vegetables eaten raw in a salad can be called salad gre ...

, where they blend in with other leaves unnoticably.

Habitat

It grows on grassy places, dry hills, meadows, in deciduous and pine forests, woods, fields and roadsides, along railway lines and hedgerows, preferably in partial shade, in dry to moist sites and on clay soils, relatively rich in nitrogen, at an altitude of above sea level. It also occurs in cultivated fields as a weed.

Gallery

File:Campanula rapunculoides Sturm60.jpg, Illustration of ''Campanula rapunculoides'' (right) from Deutschlands Flora in Abbildunge (1796) File:Campanula rapunculoides HRM2.JPG, Plant of ''Campanula rapunculoides'' File:Campanulaceae - Campanula rapunculoides-5.JPG, Close-up on flowers of ''Campanula rapunculoides'' File:Campanulaceae - Campanula rapunculoides-1.JPG, Flowers of ''Campanula rapunculoides'' File:Campanulaceae - Campanula rapunculoides.JPG, Leaf of ''Campanula rapunculoides''

Invasive species

''Campanula rapunculoides'' is native to parts of Eurasia, but is a widespread European import to North America, and it is invasive. It is extremely difficult to remove. Mechanical removal, burning, and chemicals have varying success rates, but there is no sure method of removing the plants first try.

References

* Pignatti S. - Flora d'Italia – Edagricole – 1982, Vol. II, pag. 695

External links

BiolibPlants.usda
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture
Kew Plant ListIPNI Listing
{{Taxonbar, from=Q341547 rapunculoides Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora of Michigan Flora of New York (state) Flora without expected TNC conservation status Edible plants Flora of Europe Flora invasive in North America