Herb: Milky Bellflower


Latin name: Campanula lactiflora


Family: Campanulaceae (Bellflower Family)



Edible parts of Milky Bellflower:

Leaves - raw or cooked. A mild flavour with a pleasant sweetness. Flowers - raw. A decorative and tasty addition to salads.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Perennial


Height:
100 cm
(3 1/4 foot)

Flowering:
July to
August

Habitat of the herb:

Naturalized in Britain in waste and rough ground, often in damp places.

Propagation of Milky Bellflower:

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe, otherwise surface sow spring in a cold frame. The seed usually germinates in 2 - 4 weeks at 18°C. Easy. Plants, especially as they grow, resent root disturbance so, as soon as they are large enough to handle the seedlings should be pricked out into individual pots and grow them on in a cold frame for at least their first winter. It is generally better to grow the plants on in larger pots than average in order to ensure good root development. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Basal cuttings in spring. 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. Another report says that it is difficult to divide the thick tenacious roots of mature plants, and that they resent the disturbance.

Cultivation of the herb:

Naturalized in Britain in waste and rough ground, often in damp places.

Medicinal use of Milky Bellflower:

None known

Known hazards of Campanula lactiflora:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.