Field Guide
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Harebell
Campanula rotundifolia
Not yet photographed by the community
Delicate blue bells on thin stems; Scottish bluebell.
Species Profile
Not assessed as threatened; common and widespread across the UK; Least Concern
- Lifespan
- Perennial, typically 2–3 years in cultivation; longer-lived in wild populations
- Size & Weight
- 15–60 cm tall; delicate bell-shaped flowers 12–18 mm in length
- Habitat
- Well-drained grasslands, rocky slopes, cliff edges, and moorland, often in open sunny positions with sparse competition
- UK Distribution
- Found throughout the UK, particularly abundant in Scotland, northern England, Wales, and southwestern England; year-round resident
- Diet
- Not applicable; photosynthetic plant requiring sunlight, water, and soil nutrients
- Predators
- Grazed by rabbits, sheep, and deer; flowers pollinated by bumblebees and other insects which are its primary animal interaction
- Mating Season
- Flowers July to September (late summer)
- Breeding
- Produces numerous tiny seeds dispersed by wind; a single plant can generate thousands of seeds; reproduces by seed only, not vegetatively
- Behaviour
- A perennial herb that forms loose rosettes of rounded basal leaves before sending up slender, leafless flowering stems. The delicate nodding bells are highly attractive to bumblebees, particularly the garden bumblebee, making it an important late-summer nectar source.
- •The scientific name 'rotundifolia' refers to its distinctive rounded basal leaves, which are quite different from the narrow leaves on flowering stems
- •Also known as the Scottish bluebell, it is the national flower of Scotland
- •The flowers nod downward, protecting the nectar and pollen from rain while still allowing pollinators to access them
- •It is extremely hardy and self-seeds readily, making it valuable for wildflower meadows and wildlife gardens
- •The plant exhibits 'heterophylly'—having two distinctly different leaf forms depending on whether they are basal or cauline (stem) leaves
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