''Campanula'' () is the

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus (''genus typica'') is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearin ...

of the

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

s. ''Campanula'' are commonly known as bellflowers and take both their common and scientific names from the bell-shaped

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—''campanula'' is

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for "little bell". The genus includes over 500

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), ...

and several

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

, distributed across the temperate and subtropical regions of the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined by humans as being in the same celestial sphere, celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the Solar ...

, with centers of diversity in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

region,

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

and mountains of

western Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenian ...

. The range also extends into mountains in tropical regions of

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

The species include

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook **Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), a ...

biennial Biennial means (an event) lasting for two years or occurring every two years. The related term biennium is used in reference to a period of two years. In particular, it can refer to: * Biennial plant, a plant which blooms in its second year and t ...

and

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 ...

plants, and vary in habit from dwarf arctic and alpine species under 5 cm high, to large

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

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 ...

and

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

species growing to tall.

Description

upright=1.35, thumbThe

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 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 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 ...

in the leaves and stems.Flora of China, v 19 p 530, 风铃草属 feng ling cao shu, ''Campanula'' Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 163. 1753.
/ref> The flowers are produced in

panicles 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 ...

(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 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'' ...

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 In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

is a capsule containing numerous small

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

s. ''Campanula'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...

species including common pug (recorded on harebell),

dot moth The dot moth (''Melanchra persicariae'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1761. It is a very distinctive species with very dark brown, almost black, forewings marked with a large white stigma ...

ingrailed clay The ingrailed clay (''Diarsia mendica'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was Species description, first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775. It is distributed through most of Europe and the Palearctic. This species occur ...

(recorded on harebell),

lime-speck pug The lime-speck pug (''Eupithecia centaureata'') is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is a common species throughout the Palearctic region (where it is found in Europe, Central Asia, Mongolia, southern Siberia, eastern China (Guangdong) and Ta ...

and

mouse moth The mouse moth (''Amphipyra tragopoginis'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is a widespread species with a Holarctic distribution. Distribution Europe (except the extreme north, and not occurring in the south of Spain, Sicily, or the Balka ...

Cultivation and uses

Well-known species include the northern

Campanula rotundifolia ''Campanula rotundifolia'', the common harebell, Scottish bluebell, or bluebell of Scotland, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. This herbaceous perennial is found throughout the temperate regions of the northe ...

'', commonly known as harebell in England and bluebell in Scotland and Ireland (though it is not closely related to the true bluebells), and the southern European ''

Campanula medium ''Campanula'' () is the type genus of the Campanulaceae family of flowering plants. ''Campanula'' are commonly known as bellflowers and take both their common and scientific names from the bell-shaped flowers—''campanula'' is Latin for "littl ...

'', commonly known as Canterbury bells (a popular

garden plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

in the United Kingdom). As well as several species occurring naturally in the wild in northern Europe, there are many cultivated garden species. The

cultivars A cultivar is a kind of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and which retains those traits when propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue cult ...

'Misty Dawn' and 'Kent Belle' have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

. The species ''

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

'', commonly known as rampion bellflower, rampion, or rover bellflower, is a

vegetable which was once widely grown in Europe for its spinach-like leaves and radish-like roots. In many English translations of the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob Grimm, Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm, Wilhelm (1786–1859), were Germans, German academics who together collected and published folklore. The brothers are among the best-known storytellers of Oral tradit ...

's tale ''

Rapunzel "Rapunzel" ( ; ; or ) is a German fairy tale most notably recorded by the Brothers Grimm and it was published in 1812 as part of '' Children's and Household Tales'' (KHM 12). The Grimms' story was developed from the French literary fairy tale ...

'', rampion is the vegetable that is stolen from the witch. ( ''Rapunzel'' is a completely different plant, ''Valerianella locusta''.) In the UK the

National Collection The UK National Collection is a collection of around 280 historic rolling stock, rail vehicles (predominantly of British origin). The majority of the collection is kept at four national museums: * National Railway Museum, York * National Railwa ...

of campanulas is held at Burton Agnes Hall in East Yorkshire and the National Collection of Alpine Campanulas at Langham Hall,

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a cathedral as well as market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk District, West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds an ...

, in Suffolk.

Related genera

The classification of some Campanulaceae genera as either part of ''Campanula'' or separate genera can vary by system, including ''

Azorina ''Azorina'' is a monotypic taxon, monotypic genus of flowering plants within the Family (biology), family Campanulaceae, whose sole species, ''Azorina vidalii'', the Azores bellflower, is endemism, endemic to the Azores. Its fragmented population ...

'', '' Campanulastrum'', '' Canarina'', '' Edraianthus'', ''Musschia'', ''Ostrowskia'', and '' Platycodon''. Some genera previously not segregated from ''Campanula'' currently are segregated in some systems, including ''Annaea'', ''Gadellia'', and ''Theodorovia''. ''Hemisphaera'' was formerly ''Campanula'', subsect. ''Scapiflorae'', and ''Neocodon'' was ''Campanula'' sect. '' Rapunculus''.

Species

There are 448, including: * '' Campanula aghrica'' – Aghrian bellflower * '' Campanula alliariifolia'' – Cornish bellflower * '' Campanula alaskana'' * '' Campanula alpestris'' * '' Campanula alpina'' * '' Campanula americana'' – American bellflower * '' Campanula balfourii'' – Socotra bellflower * '' Campanula barbata'' – bearded bellflower * '' Campanula betulifolia'' * '' Campanula bononiensis'' * '' Campanula bravensis'' * '' Campanula carpatica'' – Carpathian bellflower * '' Campanula cervicaria'' – bristly bellflower * '' Campanula cochleariifolia'' – fairies' thimbles * '' Campanula collina'' – blue dwarf bellflower * '' Campanula divaricata'' – Appalachian bellflower * '' Campanula garganica'' – Adriatic bellflower * '' Campanula gelida'' * ''

Campanula glomerata ''Campanula glomerata'', known by the common names clustered bellflower or Dane's blood, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Campanula'', belonging to the family (biology), family Campanulaceae. It is the County flowers of the United ...

'' – clustered bellflower * '' Campanula hercegovina'' * '' Campanula isophylla'' – Italian bellflower * '' Campanula jacobaea'' * '' Campanula lactiflora'' – milky bellflower * '' Campanula lanata'' * '' Campanula lasiocarpa'' * ''

Campanula latifolia ''Campanula latifolia'', the giant bellflower, is a species of Campanula, bellflower in the family Campanulaceae. It is also known as the large campanula and the wide-leaved bellflower. It is native to Europe and western Asia and is widely grown ...

'' – wide-leaved bellflower * '' Campanula latiloba'' – great bellflower * ''

'' – Canterbury bells * '' Campanula napuligera'' * '' Campanula parryi'' * '' Campanula patula'' – spreading bellflower * '' Campanula pendula'' * '' Campanula persicifolia'' – peach-leaved bellflower * '' Campanula piperi'' – Piper's bellflower * '' Campanula portenschlagiana'' – Dalmatian or wall bellflower * '' Campanula poscharskyana'' – Serbian bellflower * '' Campanula primulifolia'' – Spanish bellflower * ''

Campanula punctata ''Campanula punctata'', the spotted bellflower, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. This ornamental herbaceous perennial plant, perennial is native species, native to Japan, Korea, China and Siberia, and is wid ...

'' * '' Campanula pyramidalis'' – chimney bellflower * '' Campanula raineri'' – Rainer's bellflower * ''

Campanula rapunculoides ''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 herbaceous plant of the ge ...

'' – creeping bellflower * ''

'' – rampion bellflower * '' Campanula robinsiae'' * ''

'' – harebell, bluebell * '' Campanula scabrella'' – rough bellflower * '' Campanula scheuchzeri'' * '' Campanula scouleri'' – Scouler's or pale bellflower * '' Campanula shetleri'' – Castle Crags bellflower * '' Campanula spicata'' * '' Campanula takesimana'' – Korean bellflower * '' Campanula thyrsoides'' * '' Campanula trachelium'' – nettle-leaved bellflower * '' Campanula uniflora'' – Arctic bellflower * '' Campanula wilkinsiana'' – Wilkin's bellflower * '' Campanula zoysii''

Formerly placed here

*'' Adenophora gmelinii'' (Spreng.) Fisch. (as ''C. coronopifolia'' Schult. or ''C. gmelinii'' Spreng.) *'' Adenophora khasiana'' (Hook.f. & Thomson) Collett & Hemsl. (as ''C. khasiana'' Hook.f. & Thomson) *'' Adenophora liliifolia'' (L.) Besser (as ''C. liliifolia'' L.) *'' Adenophora triphylla'' (Thunb.) A.DC. (as ''C. tetraphylla'' Thunb. or ''C. triphylla'' Thunb.) *'' Azorina vidalii'' (H.C.Watson) Feer (as ''C. vidalii'' H.C.Watson) *'' Borago pygmaea'' (DC.) Chater & Greuter (as ''C. pygmaea'' DC.) *'' Eastwoodiella californica'' (as ''C. californica'' ) *''

Legousia pentagonia ''Legousia'' (Venus' looking-glass) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Campanulaceae, native to Europe. Species in the genus used to be placed under genus ''Specularia'' along with plants in genera '' Triodanis'' and '' Heterocodon'' ...

'' (L.) Druce (as ''C. pentagonia'' L.) *''

Legousia speculum-veneris ''Legousia speculum-veneris'', the looking glass or large Venus's-looking-glass, is an annual ornamental plant in the family Campanulaceae (bellflowers). It blooms from June to August and is native to the Mediterranean region. Characteristics ...

'' (L.) Durande ex Vill. (as ''C. speculum-veneris'' L.) *''

Platycodon grandiflorus ''Platycodon grandiflorus'' (from Ancient Greek "wide" and "bell") is a species of herbaceous flowering perennial plant of the family (biology), family Campanulaceae, and the only member of the genus ''Platycodon''. It is native plant, native ...

'' (Jacq.) A.DC. (as ''C. glauca'' Thunb. or ''C. grandiflora'' Jacq.) *'' Ravenella angustiflora'' (as ''C. angustiflora'' ) *'' Ravenella exigua'' (as ''C. exigua'' ) *'' Ravenella griffinii'' (as ''C. griffinii'' ) *'' Ravenella sharsmithiae'' (as ''C. sharsmithiae'' ) *''

Triodanis perfoliata ''Triodanis perfoliata'', the clasping Venus' looking-glass or clasping bellflower, is an annual flowering plant belonging to the family Campanulaceae (bellflower family). It is an annual herb native to North and South America, the natural range ...

'' (L.) Nieuwl. (as ''C. perfoliata'' L.) *'' Wahlenbergia linarioides'' (Lam.) A.DC. (as ''C. linarioides'' Lam.) *'' Wahlenbergia marginata'' (Thunb.) A.DC. ''C. gracilis'' G.Forst. or ''C. marginata'' Thunb.) *'' Wahlenbergia undulata'' (L.f.) A.DC. (as ''C. undulata'' L.f.)

Chemistry

Violdelphin Violdelphin is an anthocyanin, a plant pigment, has been found in the purplish blue flower of '' Aconitum chinense'', in the blue flowers in the genus ''Campanula'' and in the blue flowers of '' Delphinium hybridum''.Structure of Violdelphin, an A ...

is an anthocyanin, a type of plant pigment, found in the blue flowers in the genus ''Campanula''.

Fossil record

Three

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

seeds of †''Campanula palaeopyramidalis'' have been extracted from

borehole A borehole is a narrow shaft bored in the ground, either vertically or horizontally. A borehole may be constructed for many different purposes, including the extraction of water ( drilled water well and tube well), other liquids (such as petr ...

samples of the

Middle Miocene The Middle Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), epoch made up of two Stage (stratigraphy), stages: the Langhian and Serravallian stages. The Middle Miocene is preceded by the Early Miocene. The sub-epoch lasted from 15.97 ± 0. ...

fresh water deposits in Nowy Sacz Basin,

West Carpathians The Western Carpathians () are a mountain range and geomorphological province that forms the western part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountain belt stretches from the Low Beskids range of the Eastern Carpathians along the border of Poland w ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

.Łańcucka-Środoniowa M.: Macroscopic plant remains from the freshwater Miocene of the Nowy Sącz Basin (West Carpathians, Poland) zczątki makroskopowe roślin z miocenu słodkowodnego Kotliny Sądeckiej (Karpaty Zachodnie, Polska) Acta Palaeobotanica 1979 20 (1): 3–117.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Campanulaceae genera