CLUSTERED BELLFLOWER

Campanula glomerata

Bellflower Family [Campanulaceae]

month8jun month8june month8jul month8july month8aug month8sep month8sept month8oct

status
statusZnative
flower
flower8mauve
inner
inner8white
morph
morph8actino
petals
petalsZ5
type
typeZclustered
type
typeZtrumpet
stem
stem8round
stem
stem8milkysap stem8milkylatex
stem
stem8milkysap stem8milkylatex

14th July 2007, St Cyrus, Scotland. Photo: © Pam Murden
Growing amidst Lady's Bedstraw in grassland.


14th July 2007, St Cyrus, Scotland. Photo: © Pam Murden's Daughter
The flower head is clustered; the individual flowers being stalkless.


11th July 2011, Aston Clinton, Aylesbury, Bucks. Photo: © Phil And Ann Farrer
Flowers clustered together jostling each other to point skywards.


11th July 2011, Aston Clinton, Aylesbury, Bucks. Photo: © Phil And Ann Farrer
Petals are long, cut to half-way and arched like church windows to a 90° point. They have a creased fold down the centre-line more in evidence when petals not fully splayed out.


14th July 2007, St Cyrus, Scotland. Photo: © Pam Murden
A 'cluster' can be as few as just one flower, when it has been mistaken for a Gentian, but the leaves are different, being in opposite pairs in Gentians. Here there are only seven in the cluster. The flowers are coloured mauve, being much a deeper colour than Harebell.


14th July 2007, St Cyrus, Scotland. Photo: © Pam Murden's Daughter
The five petals curve outwards to a somewhat bluntish point. The stigmas protrude almost beyond the end. A faint vein runs the down centre-line of all petals.


14th July 2007, St Cyrus, Scotland. Photo: © Pam Murden's Daughter
When ripe the stigmas splay into three strips right at the end.


11th July 2011, Aston Clinton, Aylesbury, Bucks. Photo: © Phil And Ann Farrer
Lower leaves triangular and stalked; stem leaves narrow and half-clasping the stem.


Uniquely identifiable characteristics

Distinguishing Feature :

No relation to : Clustered Dock, Clustered Golden Dock nor to Clustered Clover [plants with similar names].

The leaves half-clasp the stem and are narrow. The flowers are one of the most vivid colours of the flowering plants being a brilliant violet colour, and are all clustered at the top of a single shortish hairy stem. It grows in limy areas on grassland.

Like many Bellflowers it is said to ooze a sticky white liquid from broken stems, but it is not toxic, and may even be edible. One source says this milky sap contains the diabetic 'sugar' Inulin which certainly is edible. Many other sources claim that most bellflowers have a sticky milky sap, but none say which Bellflowers do not!


  Campanula glomerata  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ Campanulaceae  

Distribution
 family8Bellflower family8Campanulaceae
 BSBI maps
genus8Campanula
Campanula
(Bellflowers)

CLUSTERED BELLFLOWER

Campanula glomerata

Bellflower Family [Campanulaceae]

WildFlowerFinder Homepage