clustered bellflower

not listed

NNA - Not applicable

not listed

Clustered bellflower is a showy exotic flower. It is native to Europe and Asia and is widely cultivated as an ornamental elsewhere. Although it rarely escapes cultivation, it has done so and is now naturalized across North America. It is uncommon in Minnesota. It is found in forests, woodlands, woodland edges, thickets, grasslands, and meadows, and on roadsides and trails. It grows in dry to moderately moist, often calcareous soil.

Clustered bellflower is a 12″ to 28″ (30 to 70 cm) tall, erect, perennial forb that rises on a single stem from a long, horizontal, underground stem (rhizome). The stem is erect and unbranched. It has many leaves and may be sparsely covered with white hairs or almost hairless.

Basal leaves are egg-shaped or egg lance-shaped, 2¼″ to 6″ (6 to 15 cm) long, ¾″ to 2¾″ (2 to 7 cm) wide. They are on long leaf stalks (petioles). The blades are heart-shaped at the base and pointed at the tip with straight sides along the tip (acute). The margins are covered with minute, sharp, forward-pointing teeth. The upper and lower surfaces may be sparsely covered with white hairs or almost hairless. Basal leaves are usually wilted by flowering time.

Stem leaves are alternate, 1½″ to 5″ (4 to 13 cm) long, and ⅝″ to 1⅜″ (1.5 to 3.5 cm) wide. Lower leaves are on long petioles, upper leaves are stalkless. The leaf blades are oval and broadest in the middle (elliptic), broadest at the base (egg-shaped), or egg-shaped with straight sides (egg lance-shaped). The base of the blade may be straight across (truncate), wedge-shaped, or rounded. The tip of the blade is pointed with either straight or concave sides along the tip. They are otherwise similar to basal leaves.

The inflorescence is a solitary, dense, head-like cluster of several flowers at the end of the stem. Sometimes there are also smaller, stalkless clusters in the uppermost leaf axils.

Individual flowers are bell-shaped, stalkless, and large, ⅝″ to 1″ (15 to 25 mm) in diameter. There are 5 outer floral leaves (sepals), 5 petals, 5 stamens and 1 style. The sepals are green, awl-shaped or narrowly triangular, ¼″ to ⅜″ (6 to 10 mm) long, and 1⁄32″ to 1⁄16″ (1 to 2 mm) wide. The sepals (collectively the calyx) are fused at the base into a short tube then separated into 5 lobes. The petals are purple, bluish-purple, or blue, rarely white. They are joined at the base into a corolla tube then separated into 5 pointed lobes. The lobes are bent backward and are as long as the corolla tube. The stamens are fused together into a tube into which the pollen is shed. The style pushes up through the anther tube pushing out the pollen. The stigma at the tip of the style has three lobes and protrudes well beyond the corolla tube. The stigma lobes strongly bend backward.

The fruit is a round or egg cone-shaped, 3⁄16″ long capsule with numerous small seeds. The capsule is crowned by the persistent calyx lobes.

12″ to 28″ (30 to 70 cm)

Purple, bluish-purple, or blue, rarely white.

Dry to moderately moist. Forests, woodlands, woodland edges, thickets, grasslands, meadows, roadsides, and trails. Calcareous soil.

June to September

Clustered bellflower is widely cultivated as an ornamental.

Sources

2, 3, 4, 7, 22, 24, 29, 30.

Native to Europe and Asia. Widely cultivated. Rarely escapes cultivation. Now naturalized in North America.

Uncommon in Minnesota.

There are fifteen subspecies of clustered bellflower worldwide. At least two are widely cultivated. Only one is naturalized in North America.

Found on a fairly dense woodland area. Just one cluster of it.

Plants

Inflorescence

Flowers

Location: Fairview Twp, Cass County

Found on a fairly dense woodland area. Just one cluster of it.