Herb: Clustered Bellflower


Latin name: Campanula glomerata


Family: Campanulaceae (Bellflower Family)



Edible parts of Clustered Bellflower:

Leaves - raw or cooked. A mild flavour with a pleasant sweetness, it can be used as a major ingredient in salads. Flowers - raw. Beautiful to look at, they have a pleasant sweetness and make a very attractive decoration to a salad.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Perennial


Height:
100 cm
(3 1/4 foot)

Flowering:
June
to July

Habitat of the herb:

Grassy places on calcareous soils, particularly in chalk grassland, less commonly on sea-cliffs or in woods.

Propagation of Clustered Bellflower:

Seed - surface sow spring in a cold frame. The seed usually germinates in 2 - 4 weeks at 18°C. Very easy. 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. Very easy. 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. Very easy, larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer or following spring.

Cultivation of the herb:

Grassy places on calcareous soils, particularly in chalk grassland, less commonly on sea-cliffs or in woods.

Medicinal use of Clustered Bellflower:

None known

Known hazards of Campanula glomerata:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.