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TALL BELLFLOWER Some plant species are classified according to the shape of their flowers. However, there are some species that are placed within a family where the shape of their flowers may be different than other members of that family. One of those species is the Tall Bellflower (Campanulastrum americanum [L.] Small). Tall Bellflower is a member of the Family Campanulaceae and of the Subfamily Campanuloideae. The generic name comes from the Latin word campana, which is “bell”. The specific epithet is Latin for “of America”. A previous scientific name for this plant was Campanula americana L. Another common name for this species is American Bellflower. DESCRIPTION OF THE TALL BELLFLOWER Height: Its height is 1½-7 feet. Stems: Its leafy, ridged, erect stems are unbranched or are slightly branched, and are slightly hairy. If broken, the stems and the leaves exude a milky sap. Leaves: Its leaves are simple and alternate. Each leaf is about 2¾-6 inches long and about ½-2 inches wide, is narrow, thin, ovate to lanceolate, has a tapered base and a pointed tip, and has serrated toothed margins. The lower leaves are often larger than the upper leaves. These leaves are stalked with the lower leaves having longer petioles than the upper leaves. White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimmermann) often eat these leaves and stems. Flowers: Its flowers are arranged in 6-30 inch long, terminal, leafy spiked clusters. These flowers are usually sessile and are borne singly or in clusters within the upper leaf axils. Each flower is light blue, violet, or rarely white with a creamy or white ring at the throat. It is radially symmetrical, star-shaped, and flat (but not bell-shaped). Each flower has a ¾-1 inch wide corolla with 5 equal, deeply cleft lobes with pointed tips, wavy or ruffled edges, and 1 midvein; a 5-lobed, tubular, ridged, green calyx; 5 free stamens that curve outward; and 1 pistil with a long style that curves downward then recurves upward at its tip, and a white, 3-lobed stigma. The lower flowers are subtended with leaf-like bracts and the upper flowers are subtended with awl-shaped bracts. These flowers bloom in order from the bottom to the top of the spike. Depending upon the latitude, flowering season is June to November. The stigma lobes are pressed tightly together until the stamens have released their pollen. This is to discourage self-pollination. After the pollen is released, the stigma lobes will open for cross-pollination. Honeybees (Genus Apis), Bumblebees (Genus Bombus), and Yellow Jackets (Subfamily Vespinae) pollinate these flowers. These flowers also attract Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris L.). Fruits: Its fruits are erect, ¼-½ inch long, 5-angled, strongly ribbed, flat-topped capsules. These capsules open by 3-5 round lateral pores near the top to release their numerous seeds. Seeds: Its seeds are smooth, oval, glossy, dark brown, and are slightly winged. They are spread by the wind. Roots: Its roots are taproots. This species has no underground runners. Habitats: Its habitats consist of rich, moist open woods, thickets, woods edges, roadsides, shaded streambanks, and prairies. Tall Bellflowers are usually annuals in the open and are usually biennials in the shade. Range: Its range covers southeastern Canada and most of the eastern U.S., as far west as the Great Plains. They are usually not found in the upper Great Lakes, New England, the Atlantic Coast, Florida, and the lower Mississippi valley. They are the most widespread Bellflower species in North America. Medicinal Uses: Tall Bellflower has some medicinal uses. Both the Native Americans and the early European settlers used them for medicine. The leaves were brewed into a tea for treating coughs and tuberculosis (consumption). An infusion of the crushed roots was used for treating pertussis (whooping cough). REFERENCES NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION FIELD GUIDE TO WILDFLOWERS OF NORTH AMERICA By David M. Brandenburg WILDFLOWERS IN THE FIELD AND FOREST By Steven Clemantis and Carol Gracie WILDFLOWERS OF THE EAST By Mabel Crittenden and Dorothy Telfer WILDFLOWERS AND WEEDS By Booth Courtenay and James H. Zimmerman COMMON FLOWERING PLANTS OF THE NORTHEAST By Donald D. Cox MISSOURI WILDFLOWERS By Edgar Denison WILDFLOWERS OF ONTARIO By Timothy Dickinson, Deborah Metsger, Jenny Bull, and Richard Dickinson EASTERN/CENTRAL MEDICINAL PLANTS By Steven Foster and James A. Duke WILDFLOWERS OF OHIO By Robert L. Henn WILDFLOWERS AND FERNS OF INDIANA FORESTS By Michael A. Homoya ILLINOIS WILDFLOWERS By Don Kurz A GUIDE TO WILDFLOWERS IN WINTER By Carol Levine and Dick Rauh EASTERN NORTH AMERICAN WILDFLOWERS By Louis C. Linn NATIVE AMERICAN MEDICINAL PLANTS By Daniel Moerman NEWCOMB’S WILDFLOWER GUIDE By Lawrence Newcomb and Gordon Morrison WILDFLOWERS By Roger Tory Peterson and Margaret Mc Kenny NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY FIELD GUIDE TO WILDFLOWERS (EASTERN REGION) By John W. Thieret, William A. Niering, and Nancy C. Olmstead WILDFLOWERS OF NORTH AMERICA By Frank D. Venning and Manabu C. Saito www.illinoiswildflowers.info/woodland/plants/am_bellflower.htm `