Campanulaceae: Campanula rapunculoides

Files

Family Name

Campanulaceae

Common Name

Creeping bellflower

Description

Campanula rapunculoides is a perennial herb growing from a deep, fleshy, and often branched rhizomatous root system that facilitates aggressive asexual reproduction and spread. Stems are erect, simple, or occasionally branched, typically 30–100 cm tall, and are smooth or minutely hairy, especially near the top. Leaves are alternate, with basal leaves ovate to broadly heart-shaped, 5 to 12 centimeters long and 3 to 7 centimeters wide, coarsely toothed, on long petioles; cauline leaves are smaller, lanceolate to ovate, with shorter petioles or sessile, 2 to 6 centimeters long and 1 to 3 centimeters wide, with serrated to scalloped margins. Both basal and cauline leaves are present, with basal leaves quickly withering as the plant flowers. Flowering occurs from late spring through summer (June–August). Inflorescences are one-sided, slender, and terminal racemes or spikes, with numerous nodding, bell-shaped flowers. Each flower is bisexual, with five narrow green sepals, fused sepals forming a green cup about 5 to 8 millimeters long and 3 to 5 millimeters wide. The corolla is composed of five fused petals, violet to blue, each petal approximately 1.5 to 2 centimeters long and about 6 to 10 millimeters wide, forming the bell-shaped flower with five distinct lobes. The flower has five stamens with fused anthers forming a tube, and a single pistil with a three-lobed style and stigma. The fruit is an upright, cylindrical capsule (6–10 mm) that turns brown at maturity and splits open at the side to release numerous tiny, brown seeds (less than 1 mm). Creeping bellflower is an introduced species in South Dakota, commonly found in gardens, lawns, roadsides, disturbed areas, woodland edges, and riparian sites, and is most abundant in urban and suburban settings, especially in the eastern part of the state.

Additional Notes

Creeping bellflower is not native to North America and is widely regarded as a noxious weed due to its aggressive spread by both seed and rhizome, outcompeting native plants and becoming difficult to eradicate. Although the plant is sometimes used ornamentally for its attractive bell-shaped flowers, it is generally discouraged in managed landscapes