bellflower

bellflower, in botany

bellflower or bluebell, name commonly used as a comprehensive term for members of the Campanulaceae, a family of chiefly herbaceous annuals or perennials of wide distribution, characteristically found on dry slopes in temperate and subtropical areas. Members of the large genus Campanula, predominantly of the Northern Hemisphere, are called campanulas, bellflowers (for the delicate, bell-shaped blossoms), or bluebells (for the prevailing color of the flowers). Among the most popular cultivated species are the harebell, or bluebell of Scotland (C. rotundifolia), native to Eurasia and North America, and the Canterbury bells (C. medium), native to S Europe. (The names bluebell and harebell are also used for Scilla nonscripta of the lily family.) Venus's looking-glass (genus Specularia) is found in the Mediterranean area and throughout North America. The giant bellflower (Ostrowskya magnifica), native to central Asia, attains a height of 8 ft (2.4 m); it is cultivated in the Puget Sound region. The family Lobeliaceae (lobelia family) is grouped with the bellflower family as a single taxonomic unit. The bellflower family is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Campanulales.

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Bellflower, city, United States

Bellflower, city (1990 pop. 61,815), Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1957. It is mainly residential with some light industry (fabricated metal products, steel foundry, rubber goods).

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bellflower

Bellflower (Campanula)

(credit: W.H. Hodge)

Any of about 300 annual, perennial, and biennial herbaceous plants of the genus Campanula (family Campanulaceae) that bear bell-shaped, usually blue flowers. They are native mainly to northern temperate regions in both hemispheres, Mediterranean areas, and tropical mountains. Distribution and habitat may be quite diverse. Species native to northern Eurasia and eastern North America but also grown in gardens are the bluebell (C. rotundifolia) and the tall bellflower (C. americana). The creeping bellflower (C. rapunculoides) is a notorious garden weed. Among the few food plants in the bellflower family, which includes a total of 40 genera and 700 species, are the rampion (C. rapunculus), eaten as a vegetable in parts of Europe, and some robust members—especially Canarina, Clermontia, and Centropogon—that produce edible berries.