clustered bellflower

(Campanula glomerata)

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List

not listed

NatureServe

NNA - Not applicable

Minnesota

not listed

 
clustered bellflower
Photo by Luciearl
 
Description

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 to 1 (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, 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 (6 to 10 mm) long, and 132 to 116 (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, 316 long capsule with numerous small seeds. The capsule is crowned by the persistent calyx lobes.

 

Height

12 to 28 (30 to 70 cm)

 

Flower Color

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

 

Similar Species

 
Habitat

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

Ecology

Flowering

June to September

 

Pests and Diseases

 

Use

Clustered bellflower is widely cultivated as an ornamental.

Distribution

Distribution Map

 

Sources

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

Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (accessed through the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Portal, bellatlas.umn.edu, 7/3/2025).

The light green counties on the map are from iNaturalist and GBIF. They represent citizen science sightings, most of which are in people’s yards or gardens, and therefore not “outside of cultivation.”

7/3/2025  
     

Nativity

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

     

Occurrence

 

Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae (green algae and land plants)

Subkingdom

Viridiplantae (green plants)

Infrakingdom

Streptophyta (land plants and green algae)

Superdivision

Embryophyta (land plants)

Division

Tracheophyta (vascular plants)

Subdivision

Spermatophytina (seed plants) / Angiospermae (flowering plants)

Class

Magnoliopsida (flowering plants)

Superorder

Asteranae

Order

Asterales (sunflowers, bellflowers, fanflowers, and allies)

Family

Campanulaceae (bellflower)

Subfamily

Campanuloideae (bellflower)

Genus

Campanula (bellflowers)

 

 

Subordinate Taxa

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

Campanula glomerata ssp. caucasica)

Campanula glomerata ssp. cervicarioides)

Campanula glomerata ssp. daqingshanica)

Campanula glomerata ssp. elliptica)

Campanula glomerata ssp. farinosa)

Campanula glomerata ssp. glomerata)

Campanula glomerata ssp. hispida)

Campanula glomerata ssp. krylovii)

Campanula glomerata ssp. oblongifolia)

Campanula glomerata ssp. oblongifolioides)

Campanula glomerata ssp. panjutinii)

Campanula glomerata ssp. serotina)

Campanula glomerata ssp. speciosa)

Campanula glomerata ssp. subcapitata)

Campanula glomerata ssp. symphytifolia)

   

Synonyms

Campanula aggregata

Campanula cephalotes

Campanula farinosa

Campanula glomerata ssp. pulchra

Campanula glomerata var. aggregata

Campanula glomerata var. dahurica

Campanula glomerata var. elliptica

Campanula glomerata var. lanceolata

Campanula glomerata var. salviifolia

Campanula glomerata var. speciosa

Campanula spicata

Campanula vlachovae

Syncodon glomeratum

Weitenwebera glomerata

   

Common Names

clustered bellflower

Dane’s blood

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Axil

The upper angle where a branch, stem, leaf stalk, or vein diverges.

 

Calyx

The group of outer floral leaves (sepals) below the petals, occasionally forming a tube. Plural: calyces.

 

Corolla

A collective name for all of the petals of a flower.

 

Petiole

On plants: The stalk of a leaf blade or a compound leaf that attaches it to the stem. On ants and wasps: The constricted first one or two segments of the rear part of the body.

 

Rhizome

A horizontal, usually underground stem. It serves as a reproductive structure, producing roots below and shoots above at the nodes.

 

Sepal

An outer floral leaf, usually green but sometimes colored, at the base of a flower.

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Carmen Tschofen

At gate to bike trail. 46°29'22.3"N 93°57'02.7”W

clustered bellflower   clustered bellflower
     
clustered bellflower    

Luciearl

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

clustered bellflower   clustered bellflower
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
clustered bellflower   clustered bellflower

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clustered bellflower   clustered bellflower

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Other Videos

Campanula glomerata 1.mp4
Beppe Lobba

About

Jan 29, 2016

Video del Centaurea Nigrescens Asteraceae: Fiordaliso nerastro - Seguici su www.traisassfiorii.it

Google translation: Video of Centaurea Nigrescens Asteraceae: blackish cornflower (sic) - Follow us on www.traisassfiorii.it

 

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Carmen Tschofen
7/2/2025

Location: Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area

At gate to bike trail

46°29'22.3"N 93°57'02.7”W

clustered bellflower
Luciearl
6/9/2020

Location: Fairview Twp, Cass County

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

clustered bellflower
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Created: 9/23/2020

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