292 Blue to Purple Flowers 



land " to the Pacific Slope the Harebell graces many a hill 

 and dale. 



Poets in every age have sung of this flower, which is the 

 real Bluebell of Scotland, the favourite floral emblem of the 

 "Land o' cakes and brither Scots," for, as the old song 

 says: 



" Let the proud Indian boast of his jessamine bowers, 



His pastures of perfume, and rose-coloured dells, 

 While humbly I sing of those wild little flowers, 

 The bluebells of Scotland, the Scottish bluebells." 



The name rotundifolia refers to the roundish heart- 

 shaped basal leaves of the plant which wither early, while 

 the stem-leaves, which are numerous, narrow and pointed, 

 remain. A marked characteristic of these flowers is that, 

 although the buds grow erect on their slender stalks, the full- 

 blown blossoms droop or are horizontal in order to protect 

 their pollen from the rain. The name Harebell refers to the 

 hair-like stems of the plant, and the common term Bluebell 

 is usually reserved for the Wild Hyacinth, which is a very 

 different flower, having thick juicy stalks and resembling 

 the garden species. 



The Harebell is extremely hardy and may be found in the 

 crevices of the cliffs, defying the fierce alpine storms or 

 growing on dry wind-swept meadows, or striking its roots 

 into the tiniest patch of soil, so as to gain a foothold on the 

 edge of some terrific precipice, where its delicate bells, so 

 " darkly, deeply, beautifully blue," bend but never break be- 

 fore the blustering gale. This wonderful vitality of the 

 Campanula is commemorated by Sir Walter Scott when, de- 

 scribing Ellen in The Lady of the Lake, he says : 



"E'en the light harebell raised its head 

 Elastic from her airy tread." 



