Family - Campanulaceae

Stems - To 1.5m tall, from creeping rhizomes, glabrous to hispid, simple, herbaceous, often purplish below.

Leaves - Alternate, petiolate below, becoming sessile or very short-petiolate above. Petioles to +/-15cm long, purplish, retrorse pubescent especially at base and apex. Blades of lower leaves cordate, ovate, acute, +6cm long, +/-4cm broad, scabrous below, scabrous above(especially near base). Midrib below strigose and long pubescent. Leaves above reduced, lanceolate-ovate.

Inflorescence - Terminal raceme to more than 1/2 the length of plant. Leaves reduced to bracts in inflorescence. Flowers one from each axil. Pedicels to 1cm long in flower, elongating in fruit to +6cm, typically glabrous.

Flowers - Corolla blue-purple, campanulate, 5-lobed. Tube to 1.3cm long, sparse pubescent internally, glabrous externally. Lobes +/-1cm long, spreading, sparsely ciliate-margined, acute, 5mm broad at base. Stamens 5. Filaments abruptly broadened and flattened at base, white, to 4mm long, connivent and pubescent at broadened base. Anthers yellow, curled, 5-6mm long. Style 1.5mm long, exserted. Stigma 3-lobed. Ovary inferior, 3-locular, ovules (seeds) many, placentation axile. Calyx tubular, 5-lobed, campanulate. Tube +/-4mm long and broad(at apex), scabrous. Lobes to 8mm long, 1.6mm broad, spreading to recurving, scabrous.

Flowering - June - August.

Habitat - Open stream banks, around old homesites, also cultivated.

Origin - Native to Eurasia.

Other info. - This plant is unmistakable and quite nice to look at. It is, however, introduced and care should be taken not knowingly spread the plant in the wild.
Steyermark lists the plant as C. rapunculoides var. rapunculoides.

Photographs taken in Marquette, MI., 7-21-02.