Campanula petiolata

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Campanula petiolata
Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia) - Killarney, Ontario.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Campanulaceae
Genus: Campanula
Species:
C. petiolata
Binomial name
Campanula petiolata
Synonyms [1]
  • Campanula macdougaliiRydb.
  • Campanula sacajaweanaPeck
  • Campanula rotundifolia var. petiolata(A.DC.) J.K.Henry
  • Campanula stylocampaEastw.

Campanula petiolata, is a wild flower that is called western harebell when it is distinguished from Campanula rotundifolia or simply harebell when it is considered the same species. It is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. This herbaceous perennial is found through much of the temperate areas of North America. It produces its violet-blue, bell-shaped flowers in late summer and autumn. It is closely related to Campanula rotundifolia and is considered either a subspecies or the same species by many botanists.

Contents

Description

Campanula petiolata is a slender, prostrate to erect herbaceous perennial 10–50 centimeters tall when fully developed. The leaves at the base of the plant (basal leaves) are round to egg shaped (ovate) in shape, mostly toothed, and usually disappear before the plants flower. [2] The basal leaves are more often ovate than round. [3]

The leaves on the lower stem are slightly widened in the middle to resembling a skinny lance point (lanceolate) with saw toothed edges (serrate). The upper leaves are reduced to being long and thin like a grass blade (linear) or just slightly lanceolate. [2] Due to the drier habitats of North America the foliage is firmer than that of Campanula rotundifolia. [4] The leaf surfaces are usually smooth, but are rarely slightly rough in texture with fine hairs (scabrous-pubescent). [2]

The flowering stems are usually smooth, but when hairy the very small hairs cover the stem completely rather than being confined to lines on the stem. The stems tend to be more upright (strict) than Campanula rotundifolia. [3] The inflorescence is a panicle or raceme, with 1 to many flowers borne on very slender pedicels. [2] [5] The flowers are a bell shape with five points from the five sepals fused together (5-cleft calyx). The flower is sometimes broader than it is long. [2] The flowers are usually a pale lavender to dawn blue in color. Plants with pale white or albino flowers may also occur, the former with a pink-lavender stigma and the later with a creamy white stigma. [4]

When flowering if finished the plant produces a nodding capsule that contains the very minute seeds. [2] It has short underground rhizomes. [6]

Taxonomy

Campanula petiolata illustrated by CJ Marvin, from Wild Flowers and Trees of Colorado by Francis Ramaley 1909 Campanula petiolata line drawing.png
Campanula petiolata illustrated by CJ Marvin, from Wild Flowers and Trees of Colorado by Francis Ramaley 1909

Campanula petiolata was scientifically described and named by Alphonse Pyramus de Candolle in his 1830 publication, Monographie des campanulées. [1] [7] It was subsequently described as a subspecies of Campanula rotundifolia as var. petiolata by Joseph Kaye Henry in 1915. [8] Reprints of some authoritative plant identification books, such as Handbook of Northwest Flowering Plants by Gilkey and Powell, continued to list C. petiolata as a separate species as late as 1961. [5]

Regardless of the validity of Campanula petiolata as a species, modern research indicates the European and North American populations separated due to a colonization event approximately 114 thousand years before the present. North American populations are derived from and most closely related to the Campanula rotundifolia populations of Northern Europe, especially those in Sweden and Ireland. [9]

Names

Campanula petiolata's binomial name refers to the bell shaped flowers of its genus [10] and to leaves being petiolate, having a short stalk to attach them to the main stem. The wildflower writer Claude A. Barr used the common name western harebell to distinguish this species from the European species. [4] Often a full list of European common or traditional names are also attributed to Campanula petiolata when it is assumed it is the same species as the flower that grow in Europe, such as "bellflower", "lady's thimble", "witch's thimble", "heathbells", "bluebells", "fairies’ thimbles", and "dead men’s bells". [11]

Habitat and range

Plants of the world online records Campanula petiolata as growing in the far north of Canada in Nunavut and the Yukon southwards to the United states west of the Dakotas, Colorado, and Texas. The southern limit of its range extends into north east of Mexico. [1] In the Pacific Northwest they are unevenly distributed from sea level to approximately 1900 meters in elevation. [5] In the Southern Rocky Mountains they are often found on grassy hillsides, in lodgepole pine forests, along road cuts in montane ecosystems from the foothills to the timberline. [12] [13] Campanula petiolata will grow in relatively dry areas in the mountains or in medium (mesic) soils, but require well drained gravely or sandy soils in moister conditions. [13]

Ecology

The leaf-cutter bee species Megachile melanophaea has been collected from the flowers of Campanula petiolata at least once. [14] It is one of the few plants that will continue to bloom in the high mountain parks of Colorado into the summer from mid July to August. [6]

Cultivation

The western harebell is rhizomatous, forming a clump of plants and tends to have more of this character when growing in sunny conditions. [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Campanula</i> Genus of flowering plants in the bellflower family Campanulaceae

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 "little bell".

<i>Campanula rotundifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Campanula rotundifolia, the 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 northern hemisphere. In Scotland, it is often known simply as bluebell. It is the floral emblem of Sweden where it is known as small bluebell. It produces its violet-blue, bell-shaped flowers in late summer and autumn.

<i>Campanula carpatica</i> Species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae

Campanula carpatica, the tussock bellflower or Carpathian harebell, is a species of flowering plant in the family Campanulaceae.

<i>Campanula exigua</i> Species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae

Campanula exigua, the chaparral bellflower, rock harebell, or Rattan campanula, is an annual flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae.

<i>Campanula glomerata</i> Species of plant

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 Campanulaceae. It is the county flower of Rutland, England.

<i>Campanula latifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Campanula latifolia, the giant bellflower, is a species of 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 as an ornamental plant.

<i>Campanula rapunculoides</i> Species of flowering plant

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 genus Campanula, belonging to the family Campanulaceae. Native to central and southern Europe and west Asia, in some parts of North America it is an extremely invasive species.

<i>Aconitum columbianum</i> Species of plant

Aconitum columbianum is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common names Columbian monkshood or western monkshood.

Campanula californica is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae, known by the common names swamp bellflower and swamp harebell. It is endemic to California, where it grows along the coastline between Marin and Mendocino Counties. It is found mainly in wet areas such as bogs, marshes, and wet forest floors. This is a hairy rhizomatous perennial herb producing a thin, creeping stem 10 to 30 centimeters long. The thin, rippled leaves are oval in shape and between 1 and 2 centimeters long. The bell-shaped flower is pale blue with curving petals up to 1.5 centimeters long. The fruit is a ribbed, spherical capsule.

<i>Campanula scouleri</i> Species of flowering plant

Campanula scouleri is a species of bellflower known by the common names pale bellflower and Scouler's harebell. It is native to the mountains of western North America from northern California to Alaska.

<i>Campanula sharsmithiae</i> Species of flowering plant

Campanula sharsmithiae is a rare species of bellflower known by the common names Mt. Hamilton bellflower and Sharsmith's harebell. It is endemic to California, where it is known from just a few occurrences in the higher mountain peaks just south of the San Francisco Bay Area, including Mt. Hamilton and Mount Boardman in the Diablo Range. It is a small, hairy annual herb producing an erect stem up to 25 centimeters tall. The fleshy, toothed leaves are a centimeter long or less. The flower is funnel- or bell-shaped and purple in color. The plant is named for late local botanist Helen Sharsmith.

<i>Favratia</i> Genus of Campanulaceae plants

Favratia zoysii, known commonly as Zois' bellflower, Zoysi's harebell, or crimped bellflower, is the sole member of the genus Favratia, closely related to Campanula (bellflowers).

<i>Pulsatilla nuttalliana</i> Species of flowering plant

Pulsatilla nuttalliana, known as American pasqueflower, prairie pasqueflower, prairie crocus, or simply pasqueflower, is a flowering plant native to much of North America, from the western side of Lake Michigan, to northern Canada in the Northwest Territories, south to New Mexico in the southwestern United States. Pasqueflower is the provincial flower of Manitoba and the state flower of South Dakota.

<i>Campanula cochleariifolia</i> Species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae

Campanula cochleariifolia, common name earleaf bellflower or fairy's-thimble, is a species of flowering plant in the family Campanulaceae, native to the Pyrenees, Alps, French Massif Central, and Carpathian Mountains of Central Europe. It is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial growing to 10 cm (4 in). Clumps of bright green leaves produce nodding pale blue bell flowers on wiry stalks. It is often found growing on limestone.

<i>Campanula punctata</i> Species of flowering plant

Campanula punctata, the spotted bellflower, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. This ornamental herbaceous perennial is native to Japan, Korea, China and Siberia, and is widely cultivated for its attractive bell-shaped flowers.

<i>Campanula piperi</i> Species of flowering plant

Campanula piperi is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family, Campanulaceae. It is native to the Olympic Mountains on the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington. It has also been noted on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

<i>Claytonia rosea</i> Species of flowering plant

Claytonia rosea, commonly called Rocky Mountain spring beauty, western springbeauty or Madrean springbeauty, is a diminutive spring blooming ephemeral plant with pale pink to magenta flowers. It grows a small round tuberous root and it one of the earliest wildflowers of spring in its range. It is found in dry meadows in forests of ponderosa and Chihuahuan pines, and moist ledges of mountain slopes of the Beaver Dam Mountains of Utah, Colorado Front Range, and Sierra Madre Occidental, south and east to the Sierra Maderas del Carmen of Coahuila.

Peperomia vestita is a species of epiphyte from the genus Peperomia. It was discovered by Casimer de Candolle in 1898.

<i>Penstemon secundiflorus</i> Species of flowering plant

Penstemon secundiflorus, commonly known as sidebells penstemon, or orchid beardtoungue is a species of Penstemon that grows in dry forests, high plains, and scrub lands from Wyoming to Mexico. It is a herbaceous perennial plant that typically grows to a height of 20 to 50 cm and has narrow, lance-shaped leaves that are grayish-green in color. The flowers of the sidebells penstemon are tubular in shape and are arranged in a one-sided spike, with the blooms all facing the same direction, and for this reason was named "secundiflorus", which means "one-sided flowers". The flowers are most often delicate shades of orchid or lavender. It is sometimes used in xeriscaping, rock gardens, and wildflower meadows, and is well-suited to dry, sunny locations with well-drained soil.

References

  1. 1 2 3 POWO (2023). "Campanula petiolata A.DC". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Henry, Joseph Kaye (1915). Flora of southern British Columbia and Vancouver Island: with many references to Alaska and northern species. Toronto: W.J. Gage & Co. Ltd. p. 283. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  3. 1 2 Rydberg, Per Axel (1 January 1903). "A recent Monograph of Campanula rotundifolia and its Allies". Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 3: 10–11. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Barr, Claude A. (1983). Jewels of the plains : wild flowers of the Great Plains grasslands and hills. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. pp. 52–53. ISBN   0-8166-1127-0.
  5. 1 2 3 Gilkey, Helen M.; Powell, Garland M. (1961). Handbook of Northwest Flowering Plants (2nd ed.). Portland, Oregon: Binford and Mort, Publishers. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  6. 1 2 Ramaley, Francis (September 1916). "Dry Grassland of a High Mountain in Northern Colorado". Plant World; a monthly journal of general botany. Binghamton. 19 (9): 254, 267. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  7. ↑ Candolle, Alphonse Pyramus de (1830). Monographie des campanulées. Paris: Veuve Desray. pp. 278–281. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  8. ↑ POWO (2023). "Campanula rotundifolia var. petiolata (A.DC.) J.K.Henry". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  9. ↑ Sutherland, Brittany L.; Galloway, Laura F. (October 2018). "Effects of glaciation and whole genome duplication on the distribution of the Campanula rotundifolia polyploid complex". American Journal of Botany. 105 (10): 1760–1770. doi: 10.1002/ajb2.1162 . Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  10. ↑ "Campanula rotundifolia". Jepson Herbarium. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  11. ↑ Ruta McGhan, Patricia J. "Harebell". Celebrating Wildflowers - Plant of the Week. U.S. Forest Service. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  12. ↑ Rydberg, Per Axel (December 1921). "Phytogeographical notes on the Rocky Mountain region X. Grasslands and other open formation of the Montane Zone of the Southern Rockies". The Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. Torrey Botanical Society. 48 (12): 323–325.
  13. 1 2 Reed, E. L. (1 February 1917). "Meadow Vegetation in the Montane Region of Northern Colorado". Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 44: 99, 100, 102, 105–108. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  14. ↑ Cockerell, T.D.A. (December 1910). "Some Bees from Eldora, Colorado". Psyche: A Journal of Entomology. Cambridge Entomological Club. 17 (6): 246.
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