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Campanula rapunculoides - L.

Creeping Bellflower

Author	L.	Botanical references	17, 200
Family	Campanulaceae	Genus	Campanula
Synonyms
Known Hazards	None known
Range	Europe, north to 65°N., east to W. Asia and the Caucasus. Introduced in Britain.
Habitat	Fields and woods[100]. Naturalised in Britain where it grows in fields and more or less disturbed grassy areas such as railway banks, occasionally in woods, usually near to houses[17].
Edibility Rating	3 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	1 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1.2m by 1m at a fast rate.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats

Woodland Garden; Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Leaves; Root.

Leaves and young shoots - raw or cooked[85, 177]. Rich in vitamin C. A pleasant mild flavour[K]. Root - raw or cooked[2, 105, 177]. A nut-like flavour, very palatable[85]. The young roots are best[85]. Somewhat sweet, they are a pleasant addition to the salad bowl[183].

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

The plant has been used as a cure for hydrophobia in Russia[271].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

An easily grown plant succeeding in almost any soil[221], though it prefers a moist but well-drained rich sandy loam and a neutral or alkaline soil in sun or partial shade[1, 200]. It is slower growing and less spreading when grown in heavier soils[271]. Plants are hardy to at least -15°c[200]. The species in this genus do not often hybridize and so seed can generally be relied upon to come true[221]. The plants are self-fertile[221]. A beautiful plant, it was at one time cultivated as a culinary plant but has fallen into disuse[4]. The plant produces a mass of thick white roots which can spread at an alarming rate, especially in light soils. It can often fill an entire bed with its tenaceous roots, killing off less vigorous plants[271]. It is best grown in the wild garden where it can be allowed to romp without harm[221, 271]. Plants can also succeed when growing in thin grass[233]. Plants produce seed freely and often self-sow[221]. Slugs are very attracted to this plant, we have had great problems growing it on our Cornish trial grounds because the slugs eat out all the new shoots in spring and can kill even well-established specimens[K]. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[233].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow spring in a cold frame. The seed usually germinates in 2 - 4 weeks at 18°c[138]. Easy[221]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a cold frame for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Basal cuttings in spring[200]. Harvest the shoots when they are about 10 - 15cm long with plenty of underground stem. Pot them up into individual pots and keep them in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer. Division in spring or autumn[200]. Very easy, any part of the root will produce a new plant[221].

Links

This plant is also mentioned in the following PFAF articles: Edible Ornamental Plants.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[85] Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.

[100] Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969 ISBN 0192176218
An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[138] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 3. Thompson and Morgan. 1989
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[221] Crook. H. Clifford. Campanulas - their cultivation and classification. Country Life 1951
The most comprehensive treatment of the genus yet written (2002).

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

[271] Lewis. P. & Lynch. M. Campanulas - A Gardener's Guide. B. T. Batsford. London. 1998 ISBN 0-7134-8266-4
Very readable account of almost 150 members of the genus, together with their hybrids and cultivars, that are more commonly grown in gardens. Excellent photographs of many of the species.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Edible Wild Plants For Tortoises

Linda King Sat Aug 18 18:20:37 2001

http://www.tlady.clara.net/TortGuide/Diet.htm

Please go to my main Diet page and click on the Plant List link at the top. This is a new section of my Tortoise Care website, and is an illustrated Edible Wild Plants list for tortoise keepers in the UK. Click on the Latin names to see the illustrations which are all original work. The information with the illustrations would be equally applicable to iguanas and herbivorous mammals.

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