Campanula paucifloraLam. ex Steud. 1840 not Desf. 1833
Campanula planifloraLam.
Campanula subulataP.Beauv. ex A.DC.
Phyteuma americanumHill
Specularia americana(L.) Morgan ex J. James
Campanula americana, the American bellflower, or tall bellflower, is an herbaceous wildflower and a member of the Campanulaceae family. [3] Tall bellflowers are native to the Eastern United States and Canada, growing along stream banks and woods. They bloom in the summer months with light blue to purple flowers.[4] Tall bellflowers can be annual or biennial with a varying life-history with seeds germinating in the fall producing annual plants and spring-germinating seeds producing biennial plants.[5] Some authorities, including the USDA PLANTS database, consider the name Campanulastrum americanum to be the accepted name for this species.[6]
A large central flower stem shoots up from a basal rosette, that terminates in a raceme 1/2-2' long, with the plant's overall height being 3-6'. The central stem is light green, slightly grooved, and hairy. The primary root system is a taproot. It has alternate leaves 3-6" in length, that are lance-shaped to ovate-elliptic in shape, with rough/toothed edges.[4] Leaves taper towards the soil and on upper stems. The top side of the leaf is rough.[7]
Tall bellflower flowers are light blue to violet with a pale white ring at the throat, which primarily bloom in June, July and August. It is an unusual bellflower in that its flowers are flat. Flowers are approximately 1" across and occur singly or in clusters. Its pistils have a recurved style and a three lobed anther and each flower has 5 stamen, 5 petals, and 5 sepals. The ovaries develop into 5 angled flat-topped seed pods.[8][9]
Reproduction
Campanula americana is self-compatible and exhibits sequential hermaphroditism as a protandrous plant. Mating strageties of C. Americana are plastic and dependent on pollinator abundance. When there are pollinators present in substantial numbers, C. americana uses out-crossing for reproduction but the plants are able to self-pollinate as security against low pollinator visits.[10]
Pollen ranges in color from dark purple to light tan.[11]
The fruiting bodies are capsules, which are displayed from August to March and contain many seeds.[7] The seeds are oblong, with a pebbled surface, and a winged margin. Seeds are typically 1.3-1.6mm long and 1.5-1.7 mm wide. The seeds of the tall bellflower are not usually predated upon. Tall bellflower seeds are light and small, suitable for their main form of dispersal by water. It has been put forth that ants may be another mode of seed dispersal.[12]
Campanula is derived from the Latin campana, which means "little bell". However, C. americana is an exception in its genus with its flat rather than bell shaped flower. With this outlier morphological difference, a new genus of Campanulastrum has been proposed for the tall bellflower.[4]
The species name americana refers to the habitat range of America.[4]
Distribution and habitat
Tall bellflowers are native to the Eastern United States, with their habitat clustered latitudinally along the Mississippi.[14] Tall bellflowers grow from the Great Lakes region of southern Ontario south to Florida and from the Dakotas east to New York.[15] The species are found in the US states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Maine, Montana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Jesery, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin and West Virginia, as well as the Canadian province of New Brunswick.[9]
Tall bellflowers thrive in partial shade and rich loamy soil.[8] Tall bellflowers live in ciarcumneutral soil pH of 6.8-7.2.[9] Tall bellflowers grow along woodland edges, in open woods, shaded meadows, stream banks and ditches.[4]
There are no significant pest threats towards the tall bellflower, or issues with diseases. Tall bellflower are sometimes visited by slugs, snails and aphids.[7] Tall bellflowers are sometimes predated upon by white-tailed deer. [8]
Conservation
While the tall bellflower is considered to be secure overall on NatureServe's conservation assessment, it is critically imperiled in Louisiana, New York and South Carolina and vulnerable in Mississippi. It is apparently secure in Georgia, Kansas, North Carolina, Virginia and Canada and secure in Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The rest of the US states do not have a rank for the conservation status of the tall bellflower. [17] Tall bellflowers attract a large number of native bees and are of conservational interest for these pollinators.[9]
Cultivation and uses
Tall bellflowers are popular for landscaping purposes, and thrive in mass groupings.[4] Tall bellflowers are within Zone 3 of the USDA Hardiness Zone.[16]
Native American groups have used different parts of the American Bellflower for respiratory cures. Specifically, the Haudenosaunee group treated whooping cough with a root infusion. The Meskwaki treated coughing and tuberculosis with the leaves.[16]
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