Campanula parryi

General: Perennial, 5-30 cm tall; stems solitary or few, erect, glabrous throughout or occasionally pubescent towards the base; plants arising from slender branching rootstocks. Leaves: Basal and cauline, alternate, simple; basal and lower cauline blades oblanceolate to spatulate, 2-6 cm long, 2- 12 mm wide, coarsely ciliate towards the base of the blade and petiole, otherwise glabrous, margins entire or minutely dentate, the teeth often thickened; cauline blades progressively reduced upwards and becoming linear, glabrous, margins entire; basal and lower cauline blades petiolate, upper cauline blades sessile. Flowers: Inflorescence a raceme, elongating in fruit; pedicels 3-6 mm long, slender, recurved; sepals oblanceolate to lance- elliptic, 1-2 mm long, purplish with a white margin; petals spatulate to oblanceolate, slightly exceeding the sepals, white; flowers March-June. Fruits: Capsule, erect, opening by valves near the apex. Ecology: Mountain and subalpine meadows, streambanks, in wet soils; 2100-3000 m (6900-10000 ft); Apache, Coconino, Graham, and Yavapai counties; western and southwestern U.S. Notes: Ours, as here described, is var. parryi. Campanula rotundifolia (harebell, bluebell, bluebell of Scotland) is similar to C. parryi, but is distinguished by round- ovate to elliptic basal leaves (the basal rosettes of C. rotundifolia are sometimes confused with those of Viola species), the bases and petioles of the lower leaves not ciliate; flowers arranged in racemes, seldom solitary; sepals mostly 5-6 mm long, often much shorter than the corolla; capsule nodding and opening by basal pores. It typically occurs in mountain and subalpine meadows, and rocky slopes at 2700 m (9000 ft) and higher. The Navajo use the dried plant to dust sores, and the Zuni make chewed root poultices for bruises. Parry-s bellflower is a lovely garden plant, especially when planted among native grasses and yellow wildflowers. It does best with supplemental moisture. Editor: Springer et al. 2008