138 NETTLE-LEAYED BELL-FLOWER. 



This plant, though often more than two feet 

 high, is neither the largest nor the handsomest 

 of our wild Campanulate flowers. The giant 

 Bell-flower {Campanula latifolia) far outrivals 

 it, not only in the beauty of its brighter blue 

 blossoms, but in the size of the w^hole plant. 

 Except in some of the northern counties, it is 

 rare in England ; but it is a common flower in 

 the woody glens of Scotland. 



The genus received its name from Campana, 

 a bell, the species having the flowers bell-shaped. 

 We have ten native kinds. Some of them, like 

 the Harebell, are graceful and delicate ; but 

 several, like the nettle-leaved species, are showy 

 plants. One of this family, the Rampion Bell- 

 flower {Campanula Bajjmiculus) , grows wild in 

 some of the gravelly lands of our midland 

 counties, flowering in July and August. Its 

 roots are much cultivated in Erance and Italy, 

 and occasionally in our own country. They 

 are called Eamps, and are eaten boiled with 

 sauce, or cold with vinegar and pepper. 



