Campanula

Campanula, or Bell-flower, a large genus of herbaceous plants giving its name to the gamopetalous order Campanulaceae. They are chiefly natives of the north, some eight or nine being indigenous to Britain. Many of them have an acrid milky juice. Their leaves are scattered and exstipulate; the corolla regular, bell-shaped, five-cleft, and epigynous; the stamens five in number, and the fruit capsular. C. rotundifolia is the Harebell (q.v.); C. Rapunculus, the rampion, is cultivated for its edible roots; C. Trachelium is the nettle-leaved bellflower or wild Canterbury bell, and C. liederacea, the minute ivy-leaved bell-flower, is one of our most beautiful waterside plants. Several species are grown in gardens.