Campanulaceae (II)

The bellflower family (Campanulaceae) is a family of biennial, mostly herbaceous (non-woody) plants, many with showy, blue, bell-shaped flowers.

This family is almost cosmopolitan and occurs on all continents except Antarctica. In addition, species of this family are found on many remote islands and archipelagos in the ocean. Hawaii is particularly rich, with more than 100 endemic species. Continental regions with great diversity are South Africa, California and the northern Andes.

Habitats range from extreme deserts to rainforests and lakes, from the tropics to the high Arctic (Campanula uniflora), and from sea cliffs to high alpine habitats.

In Belgium, there are several native species. The rapunzel bellflower (C. rapunculus) is the most common here. The Dutch name is a corruption of 'rapunculus', which means turnip in Latin. The thick fleshy root and the leaves are edible and were cultivated as vegetables in the Middle Ages.

On poor, dry, sandy soils, you will find the rarer C. rotundifolia, which has all the general characteristics of the bellflowers, and Jasione montana, which is an oddity within the bellflower family. At first glance, you might think it belongs to the composite family, such as the dandelion, but on closer inspection it is a collection of all small split bellflowers.

Other rare examples are C. trachelium, C. rapunculoides and C. persicifolia.