Campanula patula Spreading Bellflower RR DD N
Often Campanula patula in the British countryside is a merely a garden escape but here it is native. It appears in different places each year and gives the impression of being biennial or even annual. C patula seems to need some sort of ground disturbance to germinate and the seed appears to be long-lived. The leaves are mostly crowded at the bottom of the long stems and the flowers, although bell shaped on opening, soon spread wide giving rise to the English name: Spreading Bellflower.
It is mostly found around the Welsh border north of Gloucester with other records dotted about southern England but elsewhere it is rare and doesn't occur in Ireland.
Woods near Redbrook, Gloucestershire 6th September 2005
Added on 6th September 2005, updated 16th November 2008, updated 10th March 2010, updated Se3 27th April 2010, updated 30th June 2015