''Campanula rotundifolia'', the harebell, Scottish bluebell, or bluebell of Scotland, is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), 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 ...
of
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 language, Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to ...
in the bellflower
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...
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 be ...
.
[ This ]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 o ...
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 ...
is found throughout the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. In Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
, it is often known simply as bluebell. It is the floral emblem
In a number of countries, plants have been chosen as symbols to represent specific geographic areas. Some countries have a country-wide floral emblem; others in addition have symbols representing subdivisions. Different processes have been used to ...
of Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
where it is known as small bluebell. It produces its violet-blue, bell-shaped flowers in late summer and autumn.
The Latin specific epithet
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bo ...
''rotundifolia'' means "round leaved". However, not all leaves are round in shape. Middle stem-leaves are linear.
Description
''Campanula rotundifolia'' is a slender, prostrate to erect 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 o ...
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 ...
, spreading by seed and rhizomes
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 h ...
. 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, ste ...
are long-stalked, rounded to heart-shaped, usually slightly toothed, with prominent hydathodes, and often wither early. Leaves on the flowering stems are long and narrow and the upper ones are unstemmed.[ 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 ...
is a panicle
A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...
or 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 ...
, with 1 to many flowers borne on very slender pedicels
In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''.
Description
Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...
. The flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...
s usually have five (occasionally 4, 6 or 7) pale to mid violet-blue petal
Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usually ...
s fused together into a bell shape, about long and five long, pointed green sepal
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 ...
s behind them. Plants with pale pink or white flowers may also occur.[ The petal lobes are triangular and curve outwards. The seeds are produced in a capsule about diameter and are released by pores at the base of the capsule. Seedlings are minute, but established plants can compete with tall grass. As with many other '']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" ...
'' species, all parts of the plant exude white latex
Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latexes are found in nature, but synthetic latexes are common as well.
In nature, latex is found as a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants (angiosperm ...
when injured or broken.
The flowering period is long and varies by location. In the British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isl ...
, harebell flowers from July to November. In Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas to ...
, it flowers from May to August; in Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, from June to October. The flowers are pollinated by bees, but can self-pollinate
Self-pollination is a form of pollination in which pollen from the same plant arrives at the stigma of a flower (in flowering plants) or at the ovule (in gymnosperms). There are two types of self-pollination: in autogamy, pollen is transferred to ...
.
Taxonomy
''Campanula rotundifolia'' was first formally described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his Nobility#Ennoblement, ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalise ...
. , no varieties or subspecies of ''Campanula rotundifolia'' are accepted in Plants of the World Online
Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants b ...
.[ Several species have been previously described as varieties or subspecies of ''C. rotundifolia'':
* '' Campanula alaskana'' (''Campanula rotundifolia'' var. ''alaskana'' or ''hirsuta'')
* '' Campanula giesekiana'' (''C. r.'' var. ''dubia'' or var. ''groenlandica'')
* '' Campanula intercedens'' (''C. r.'' var. ''dentata'' or ''intercedens'')
* '' Campanula kladniana'' (''C. r.'' subsp. ''kladniana'')
* '' Campanula macrorhiza'' (''C. r.'' var. ''aitanica'' or ''alcoiana'')
* '' Campanula moravica'' (''C. r.'' subsp. ''moravica'')
* '' Campanula nejceffii'' (''C. r.'' var. ''bulgarica'')
* '' Campanula petiolata'' (''C. r.'' var. ''petiolata'')
* '' Campanula ruscinonensis'' (''C. r.'' var. ''ruscinonensis'')
* '' Campanula willkommii'' (''C. r.'' subsp. ''willkommii'')
While it is now commonly known as harebell or bluebell, it was historically known by several other names including blawort, hair-bell, lady's thimble, witch's bells, and witch's thimbles.
Elsewhere in ]Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
, "bluebell" refers to '' Hyacinthoides non-scripta'', and in North America, "bluebell" typically refers to species in the genus '' Mertensia'', such as '' Mertensia virginica'' (Virginia bluebells).
Distribution and habitat
''Campanula rotundifolia'' occurs from Spitzbergen
Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...
, extending in mainland Europe from northernmost Scandinavia to the Pyrenees and the French Mediterranean coast. It also occurs on the southern coasts of Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is ...
, on Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...
and on southern Novaya Zemlya
Novaya Zemlya (, also , ; rus, Но́вая Земля́, p=ˈnovəjə zʲɪmˈlʲa, ) is an archipelago in northern Russia. It is situated in the Arctic Ocean, in the extreme northeast of Europe, with Cape Flissingsky, on the northern isla ...
.[ It is not found in Canada (see other '']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" ...
'' species, such as '' Campanula alaskana'').
It occurs as tetraploid
Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contains ...
or hexaploid
Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contains ...
populations in Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
and Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
, but diploids occur widely in continental Europe.[McAllister, H.A. 1973. The experimental taxonomy of ''Campanula rotundifolia'' L. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Glasgow] In Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
, the tetraploid
Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contains ...
population has an easterly distribution and the hexaploid
Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contains ...
population a westerly distribution, and very little mixing occurs at the range boundaries.[
Harebells grow in dry, nutrient-poor ]grassland
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natu ...
s and heath
A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler a ...
s. The plant often successfully colonises cracks in walls or cliff faces and stable dunes.[
''C. rotundifolia'' is more inclined to occupy climates that have an average temperature below 0 °C in the cold months and above 10 °C in the summer.
In Iceland, research on ''Campanula rotundifolia'' has revealed that it is a host of at least three species of ]pathogenic fungi Pathogenic fungi are fungi that cause disease in humans or other organisms. Approximately 300 fungi are known to be pathogenic to humans. Markedly more fungi are known to be pathogenic to plant life than those of the animal kingdom. The study of fu ...
, ''Coleosporium tussilaginis
''Coleosporium tussilaginis'' is a species of rust fungus in the family Coleosporiaceae. It is a plant pathogen.
It is known to infect '' Campanula rotundifolia'', on which it produces urediniospores and teliospore
Teliospore (sometimes called ...
'', '' Puccinia campanulae'' and '' Sporonema campanulae'' (and the teleomorph
In mycology, the terms teleomorph, anamorph, and holomorph apply to portions of the life cycles of fungi in the phyla Ascomycota and Basidiomycota:
*Teleomorph: the sexual reproductive stage (morph), typically a fruiting body.
*Anamorph: an as ...
'' Leptotrochila radians'').
In culture
The harebell is dedicated to Saint Dominic
Saint Dominic ( es, Santo Domingo; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilian Catholic priest, mystic, the founder of the Dominican Order and is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scien ...
.
In 2002 Plantlife
Plantlife is the international conservation membership charity working to secure a world rich in wild plants and fungi. It is the only UK membership charity dedicated to conserving wild plants and fungi in their natural habitats and helping peo ...
named it the county flower of Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions hav ...
in the United Kingdom.
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
makes a reference to 'the azured hare-bell' in Cymbeline
''Cymbeline'' , also known as ''The Tragedie of Cymbeline'' or ''Cymbeline, King of Britain'', is a play by William Shakespeare set in Ancient Britain () and based on legends that formed part of the Matter of Britain concerning the early Cel ...
:
:''With fairest flowers,''
:''Whilst summer lasts, and I live here, Fidele,''
:''I'll sweeten thy sad grave: thou shalt not lack''
:''The flower that's like thy face, pale primrose, nor''
:''The azured hare-bell, like thy veins; no, nor''
:''The leaf of eglantine, whom not to slander,''
:''Out-sweeten’d not thy breath.''[In Jessica Kerr's and Opelia Dowden's ''Shakespeare's Flowers'' published in 1970 they infer that Shakespeare was actually making reference to '' Hyacinthoides non-scripta''.]
Christina Rossetti
Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English writer of romantic, devotional and children's poems, including " Goblin Market" and "Remember". She also wrote the words of two Christmas carols well known in Bri ...
(1830–1894) wrote a poem entitled 'Hope is Like A Harebell':
:''Hope is like a harebell, trembling from its birth,''
:''Love is like a rose, the joy of all the earth,''
:''Faith is like a lily, lifted high and white,''
:''Love is like a lovely rose, the world’s delight.''
:''Harebells and sweet lilies show a thornless growth,''
:''But the rose with all its thorns excels them both.''
Emily Dickinson
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry.
Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massach ...
uses the harebell as an analogy for desire that grows cold once that which is cherished is attained:
:''Did the Harebell loose her girdle''
:''To the lover Bee''
:''Would the Bee the Harebell hallow''
:''Much as formerly?''
:''Did the ''paradise'' – persuaded''
:''Yield her moat of pearl''
:''Would the Eden be an Eden''
:''Or the Earl – an Earl''[Emily Dickinson, Did the Harebell loose her girdle, Volume: Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, first published in 1955]
Notes
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q27989
rotundifolia
Flora of Europe
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus