Phyteuma orbiculare, common name round-headed rampion or Pride of Sussex, is a

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 ...

plant of the genus ''

Phyteuma ''Phyteuma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Campanulaceae, native to Europe and Morocco. The common name is rampion, a name shared with the related plant ''Campanula rapunculus''. Rampion features prominently in some versions of t ...

'' 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 bel ...

Description

''Phyteuma orbiculare'' reaches on average of height. A deep blue, almost purple wildflower that is not as it seems: each head, rather than being a single bloom, is actually a collection of smaller ones, huddled together. The stem is erect, simple, glabrous and striated, the leaves vary in shape on a single plant, with larger, broader, ovate to lanceolate, serrated, petiolated leaves at the base of the stem and smaller, narrower, lanceolate to linear cauline leaves. The head-shaped inflorescence is a dense erect

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 ...

of about of diameter, with usually 15 to 30 flowers. The petals are blue or violet-blue and form small tubes with an opening at the top. The outer bracts are lanceolate and usually two to four times longer than wide. The flowering period extends from May to August. 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 ...

Distribution

This plant is widespread in most of Europe from the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

to the

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 ...

. The plant can be found at low altitudes in Western Europe and in mountains of Central Europe. In the United Kingdom, the plant is more common on the

South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills in the south-eastern coastal counties of England that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the ...

than anywhere else.

Habitat

This species grows mainly in grasslands, meadows, pasturelands, and pine forests. It prefers full sun exposure on calcareous soils, at an altitude of above sea level. In the UK, its habitat is chalk grassland.

Subspecies

*''Phyteuma orbiculare'' subsp. ''flexuosum'' *''Phyteuma orbiculare'' subsp. ''montanum'' *''Phyteuma orbiculare'' subsp. ''orbiculare''

Culture

The round-headed rampion is known colloquially in the county of

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

as the Pride of Sussex. It is also the

County flower In 2002 Plantlife conducted a "County Flowers" public survey to assign flowers to each of the counties of the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man. The results of this campaign designated a single plant species to a "county or metropolitan area" in ...

.Plantlife websit
''County Flowers page''
As Sussex's county flower, its name was chosen for the

Rampion Wind Farm Rampion is an offshore wind farm developed by E.ON, now operated by RWE, off the Sussex coast in the UK. The wind farm has a capacity of 400 MW, although 700 MW was originally planned. The wind farm was commissioned in April 2018 and ...

, a wind farm off the coast of Sussex.

References

*Pignatti S. - Flora d'Italia – Edagricole – 1982, Vol. II, pag. 703

External links

BiolibPhyteuma orbiculare
Campanuloideae Flora of Europe Flora of the Pyrenees Flora of the Alps {{Campanulaceae-stub