Campanula zoysii is a flower in the genus Campanula

Campanula

Campanula is one of several genera in the family Campanulaceae with the common name bellflower. It takes its name from their bell-shaped flowers—campanula is Latin for "little bell"....

 (bellflowers).

Range and habitat

The flower is endemic to Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

, northern Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 (Friuli–Venezia Giulia and Veneto

Veneto

Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...

), and Slovenia

Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

. It grows most readily in limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

 crevices in the Julian

Julian Alps

The Julian Alps are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps that stretches from northeastern Italy to Slovenia, where they rise to 2,864 m at Mount Triglav. They are named after Julius Caesar, who founded the municipium of Cividale del Friuli at the foot of the mountains...

 and Kamnik–Savinja Alps, as well as in the Alps

Alps

The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....

 of Italy and Austria.

C. zoysii can survive in temperatures as low as -35 C. Garden pests include slug

Slug

Slug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell...

s and snail

Snail

Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...

s.

Physical description

The plant tends to grow low, reaching anywhere from 5 to 7 cm (2 to 2.8 in) in height, though some plants may grow as tall as 23 cm (9.1 in). Tufts (or "cushions") of the plant tend to creep outward as it grows. Seedlings require two years to grow to flower.

Flowers

The species is unique among its genus of bellflowers. The mouth of C. zoysiis bell-shaped flower narrows, ending in a five-pointed star, while the flowers of other Campanula species are likewise bell-shaped, but open. (The "pinched" shape of these flowers nonetheless manages to allow insects inside for pollination.) The flowers are arranged one to three for each stem. The plant's pale sky blue- to lavender

Lavender (color)

Lavender is a pale tint of violet. It applies particularly to the color of the flower of the same name. The web color called lavender is displayed at right—it matches the color of the very palest part of the lavender flower; however, the more saturated color shown below as floral lavender more...

-colored flowers bloom in June over a three- to four-week period.

Leaves

Leaves are crowded at the root, stalked, ovate and blunt; stem leaves are obovate, lance-shaped and linear.

Cultural significance

C. zoysii is held in high regard in Slovenia. It is considered a symbol of the Slovenian Alps, and called "the daughter of the Slovene mountains". It is highly esteemed as an ornamental plant in rock gardens. The September 1905 issue of Gardeners' Chronicle

The Gardeners' Chronicle

The Gardeners' Chronicle was a British horticulture periodical. It lasted as a title in its own right for nearly 150 years and is still extant as part of the magazine Horticulture Week....

 praises C. zoysii as "choicest and most distinct ... of a genus comprising flowers of the greatest beauty and of the highest merit in the garden".

The plant is named in honor of its discoverer, botanist Karl von Zois

Karl von Zois

Karl von Zois zu Laibach was an Austrian amateur botanist and plant collector. Von Zois, described as a "country gentleman", lived in the Carniola region of Austria...

 (1756–1800). It was first described by Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin

Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin

Nikolaus Joseph Freiherr von Jacquin or Baron Nikolaus von Jacquin. was a scientist who studied medicine, chemistry and botany....

in 1789.

External links

• Campanula zoysii Wulfen at Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN)