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Campanula

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Erutuon (talk | contribs) at 13:50, 11 October 2012 (Undid revision 517164923 by JLPC (talk): that's a great picture, but there's already a picture of that species in the taxobox, and we don't need two). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For the main belt asteroid, see 1077 Campanula. The hydrozoan genus Campanula is usually included in Campanularia today.

Campanula
Campanula persicifolia near Tehumardi, Saaremaa, Estonia.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Asterids
Order:
Asterales
Family:
Campanulaceae
Subfamily:
Campanuloideae
Genus:
Campanula

Species

See text.

Synonyms

Brachycodon Fed.
Diosphaera Buser
Rapuntia Chevall.
Rapuntium Post & Kuntze
Rotantha Small
Symphiandra Steud.
Tracheliopsis Buser[1]

Campanula /kæmˈpæn.[invalid input: 'ju:']lə/[2] is one of several genera in the family Campanulaceae with the common name bellflower. It takes its name from their bell-shaped flowers—campanula is Latin for "little bell".

The genus includes over 500 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 metres (6 ft 7 in) tall.

Description

The leaves are alternate 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 five-lobed corolla, typically large (2–5 cm or more long), mostly blue to purple, sometimes white or pink. Below the corolla, 5 leaf-like sepals form the calyx. Some species have a small additional leaf-like growth termed an "appendage" between each sepal, and the presence or absence, relative size, and attitude of the appendage is often used to distinguish between closely related species.

The fruit is a capsule containing numerous small seeds.

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.

Cultivation and uses

Well-known species include the northern temperate Campanula rotundifolia, commonly known as harebell in England and bluebell in Scotland (though it is not closely related to the true bluebells), and the southern European Campanula medium, commonly known as Canterbury bells (a popular 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 following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:-

  • 'Birch Hybrid'[3]
  • 'Burghaltii' (Garden Girls series)[4]
  • 'Joe Elliott'[5]
  • 'Kent Belle' (Garden Girls series)[6]

The species Campanula rapunculus, commonly known as rampion bellflower, rampion, or rover bellflower, is a biennial vegetable which was once widely grown in Europe for its spinach-like leaves and radish-like roots.[7] The Brothers Grimm's tale Rapunzel took its name from this plant.

In the UK the National Collection of campanulas is held at Burton Agnes Hall in East Yorkshire and the National Collection of Alpine Campanulas at Langham Hall in Suffolk.

Species

Main article: List of Campanula species

There are 473, including:

Formerly placed here

Chemistry

Violdelphin is an anthocyanin, a type of plant pigments, found in the blue flowers in the genus Campanula.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b "Genus: Campanula L." Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2004-01-29. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
  2. ^ Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
  3. ^ http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=304
  4. ^ http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=305
  5. ^ http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=5369
  6. ^ http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=5621
  7. ^ public domain Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). Encyclopedia Americana. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ^ "GRIN Species Records of Campanula". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
  9. ^ Structure and biosynthesis of anthocyanins in flowers of Campanula. Kirsten Brandt, Tadao Kondo, Hideki Aoki and Toshio Goto, Phytochemistry, 29 April 1993, Volume 33, Issue 1, Pages 209–212, doi:10.1016/0031-9422(93)85424-P
  • Fitter, R (1974). The Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe. Collins. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
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