Campanula rapunculoides (Creeping bellflower)

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Campanula rapunculoides L.

Creeping bellflower, rampion bellflower, rover bellflower

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Asterales	Flowering plants with a central disk flower and surrounding petals, like daisies
Family	Campanulaceae	Campanula or bellflower family; means “bell-shaped flowers”
Genus	Campanula	Latin for “little bell”: the bellflower family
Species	rapunculoides	Means “similar to Campanula rapunculus”

About plant names...

Creeping bellflower is native to Europe and western Siberia. It inhabits fields, stream banks, woodlands, woodland edges, prairies, roadsides, urban areas, and oak savannas. Introduced to other countries, it is has escaped cultivation and naturalized in Australia, New Zealand, North America and South America. Over much of its range, it is considered an invasive species, and it is not recommended for gardens for this reason. Once established, creeping bellflower is extremely difficult to get rid of.

Plants: 12-31" (30-80 cm) high. Stems are erect or leaning and usually unbranched, smooth to slightly hairy, with parallel reddish ridges.

Leaves: Leaves near the base of the plant are triangular and narrow, with a heart-shaped or rounded base, jagged edges, and a rough texture. Lower leaves are up to 4" (10 cm) × 2" (5 cm), on stalks (petioles) up to 6" (15 cm) long. Upper stem leaves are alternate, lanceolate to ovate, and sessile, with hairy undersides.

Flowers: Flowers hang like beautiful bells, in erect racemes. They are bright blue-violet (rarely white), ¾-1½" (2-4 cm) long, with five deep lobes, on short stems. The bracts at the base of each bell also form a 5-pointed star, and are reflexed (bent back). Flowers appear from June to August.

Fruits: Capsules ⅛-¼" (5-8 mm) × ~³/₁₆" (5-6 mm), are nearly round. They burst open when dry, releasing flattened seeds about ¹/₃₂" (1 mm) in size. A single plant produces as many at 15,000 seeds!

Edibility: Leaves, shoots and roots are edible for humans. The plant was once cultivated for food.

Online References:

Missouriplants.com

Illinois Wildflowers

Wikipedia

The Missouri Botanical Garden

Minnesota Wildflowers

Www.invasiveplantatlas.org

7/18/2019 · Oceanview, Falmouth, Maine
≈ 10 × 6" (24 × 16 cm) ID is uncertain

7/16/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 4 × 4" (10 × 10 cm)

7/17/2019 · Oceanview, Falmouth, Maine
≈ 8 × 12" (20 × 31 cm) ID is uncertain

Campanula rapunculoides L. var. ucranica (Besser) K. Koch

Campanula rapunculoides description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

7/18/2019 · Oceanview, Falmouth, Maine
≈ 10 × 6" (24 × 16 cm) ID is uncertain

7/16/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 4 × 5" (9.9 × 12 cm)

9/18/2016 · Edgar M. Tennis Preserve, Deer I, Maine

7/16/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 7 × 6" (18 × 15 cm)

9/18/2016 · Edgar M. Tennis Preserve, Deer I, Maine

7/17/2019 · Oceanview, Falmouth, Maine
≈ 4 × 6" (10 × 15 cm) ID is uncertain

7/16/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 4 × 4½" (10 × 11 cm)

9/18/2016 · Edgar M. Tennis Preserve, Deer I, Maine

7/16/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 6 × 3½" (15 × 9.6 cm)

7/17/2019 · Oceanview, Falmouth, Maine
≈ 5 × 8" (13 × 20 cm) ID is uncertain

Range: Zones 3-9:

About this map...