''Campanula rotundifolia'', the common harebell, Scottish bluebell, or bluebell of Scotland, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the bellflower

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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 bel ...

. 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 of ...

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

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. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, 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 t ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

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 (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

''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

, 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 hori ...

. The basal

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

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 In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is a

panicle In botany, 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 p ...

raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, 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 ...

, 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 In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branch ...

. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s usually have five (occasionally 4, 6 or 7) pale to mid violet-blue

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

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 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

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 the type genus of the Campanulaceae family (biology), family of flowering plants. ''Campanula'' are commonly known as bellflowers and take both their common and scientific names from the bell-shaped flowers—''campanula'' i ...

'' species, all parts of the plant exude white

latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latices are found in nature, but synthetic latices are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a wikt:milky, milky fluid, which is present in 10% of all floweri ...

when injured or broken. The flowering period is long and varies by location. In the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, 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 Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

, harebell flowers from July to November. In

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, it flowers from May to August; in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, from June to October. The flowers are pollinated by bees, but can self-pollinate.

Taxonomy

''Campanula rotundifolia'' was first formally described in 1753 by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

. , no varieties or subspecies of ''Campanula rotundifolia'' are accepted in

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

(POWO). Several species have been previously described as varieties or subspecies of ''C. rotundifolia'': * '' Campanula alaskana'' (''Campanula rotundifolia'' var. ''alaskana'' or ''hirsuta'') - Alaskan bellflower * '' Campanula giesekiana'' (''C. r.'' var. ''dubia'' or var. ''groenlandica'') - Giesecke's harebell * '' Campanula intercedens'' (''C. r.'' var. ''dentata'' or ''intercedens'') - intermediate bellflower * '' 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'') - western harebell * '' Campanula ruscinonensis'' (''C. r.'' var. ''ruscinonensis'') * '' Campanula willkommii'' (''C. r.'' subsp. ''willkommii'') Although POWO and

World Flora Online World Flora Online is an Internet-based compendium of the world's plant species. Description The World Flora Online (WFO) is an open-access database, launched in October 2012 as a follow-up project to The Plant List, with the aim of publishi ...

(WFO) accept these as separate species, most English language sources do not. For example both the Database of Vascular Plants of Canada (VASCAN) and the USDA

Natural Resources Conservation Service Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provides technical assistance to farmers and other private landowners and ...

PLANTS database (PLANTS) do not accept any of these species as valid or even regard them as valid subspecies. This is also the case with authoritative floras such as ''Flora of Colorado''. 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: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

, "bluebell" refers to ''

Hyacinthoides non-scripta ''Hyacinthoides non-scripta'' (formerly ''Endymion non-scriptus'' or ''Scilla non-scripta'') is a bulbous perennial plant found in Atlantic areas from the north-western part of the Iberian Peninsula to the British Isles, and also frequently used ...

'', 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 ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it lies about midway between the northern coast o ...

, 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 is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

, on

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

and on southern

Novaya Zemlya Novaya Zemlya (, also , ; , ; ), also spelled , 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 island, considered the extreme points of Europe ...

. Some sources and authorities like the VASCAN and PLANTS do not currently separate out different species for North America. If using these sources it is widely distributed through North America including all of Canada and most of the United States. It occurs as

tetraploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than two paired sets of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two complete sets of chromosomes, one fro ...

hexaploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than two paired sets of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two complete sets of chromosomes, one fro ...

populations in

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, but diploids occur widely in continental

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

.McAllister, H.A. 1973. The experimental taxonomy of ''Campanula rotundifolia'' L. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Glasgow In

, the

population has an easterly distribution and the

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 dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

s and

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

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, '' Coleosporium tussilaginis'', '' Puccinia campanulae'' and '' Sporonema campanulae'' (and the teleomorph '' Leptotrochila radians'').Helgi Hallgrímsson & Guðríður Gyða Eyjólfsdóttir (2004)
''Íslenskt sveppatal I - smásveppir'' [Checklist of Icelandic Fungi I - Microfungi
Fjölrit Náttúrufræðistofnunar. Náttúrufræðistofnun Íslands [Icelandic Institute of Natural History]. ISSN 1027-832X

In culture

The harebell is dedicated to Saint Dominic. In 2002 Plantlife named it the County flowers of the United Kingdom, county flower of Yorkshire in the United Kingdom.

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 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 British Iron Age, Ancient Britain () and based on legends that formed part of the Matter of Britain concer ...

: :''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 ''

''.

Christina Rossetti Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English writer of romanticism, romantic, devotional and children's poems, including "Goblin Market" and "Remember". She also wrote the words of two Christmas carols well k ...

(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, Massac ...

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

{{Authority control rotundifolia Flora of Europe Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus