Phyteuma
Encyclopedia
Phyteuma is a genus of about 40-45 species of flowering plant
s in the family Campanulaceae
, native to Europe
and western Asia
. The common name is Rampion. Rampion features prominently in some versions of the fairy tale Rapunzel
. In the version collected by the Brothers Grimm
, it is said that "rapunzel" is the name given to a local variety of rampion.
The species are herbaceous
perennial
plants, growing to 5–90 cm tall. The leaves
are alternate, petiolate, and vary in shape on a single plant, with larger, broader leaves at the base of the stem and smaller, narrower leaves higher up; the leaf margin is serrated. The flowers are produced in dense erect panicle
s, each flower with a narrow, deeply five-lobed corolla, 1–2 cm or more long), mostly purple, sometimes pale blue, white or pink. The fruit
is a capsule
containing numerous small seed
s.
Selected species
The name Rampion is also sometimes applied to the related Rampion Bellflower Campanula rapunculus.
The round-headed rampion is known colloquially in the county of Sussex
, England
as the pride of Sussex. It is also the County flower
of Sussex
.
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s in the family Campanulaceae
Campanulaceae
The family Campanulaceae , of the order Asterales, contains about 2000 species in 70 genera of herbaceous plants, shrubs, and rarely small trees, often with milky non-toxic sap...
, native to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and western Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. The common name is Rampion. Rampion features prominently in some versions of the fairy tale Rapunzel
Rapunzel
"Rapunzel" is a German fairy tale in the collection assembled by the Brothers Grimm, and first published in 1812 as part of Children's and Household Tales. The Grimm Brothers' story is an adaptation of the fairy tale Persinette by Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force originally published in 1698...
. In the version collected by the Brothers Grimm
Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...
, it is said that "rapunzel" is the name given to a local variety of rampion.
The species are herbaceous
Herbaceous
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
perennial
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
plants, growing to 5–90 cm tall. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are alternate, petiolate, and vary in shape on a single plant, with larger, broader leaves at the base of the stem and smaller, narrower leaves higher up; the leaf margin is serrated. The flowers are produced in dense erect panicle
Panicle
A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....
s, each flower with a narrow, deeply five-lobed corolla, 1–2 cm or more long), mostly purple, sometimes pale blue, white or pink. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a capsule
Capsule (fruit)
In botany a capsule is a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. A capsule is a structure composed of two or more carpels that in most cases is dehiscent, i.e. at maturity, it splits apart to release the seeds within. A few capsules are indehiscent, for example...
containing numerous small seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s.
Selected species
- Phyteuma balbisii
- Phyteuma betonicifolium
- Phyteuma charmelii
- Phyteuma comosum
- Phyteuma confusum
- Phyteuma globulariifolium
- Phyteuma halleriPhyteuma halleriPhyteuma halleri is an flowering plant in the family Campanulaceae....
- Phyteuma hemisphaericum
- Phyteuma humile
- Phyteuma michelii
- Phyteuma nigrum - Black Rampion
- Phyteuma orbicularePhyteuma orbicularePhyteuma orbiculare, common name Round-headed Rampion, is a herbaceous perennial plant of the genus Phyteuma belonging to the family Campanulaceae.-Description: Phyteuma orbiculare reaches on average of height...
- Round-headed Rampion - Phyteuma pauciflorum
- Phyteuma pedemontanum
- Phyteuma scheuchzeri
- Phyteuma sieberi
- Phyteuma spicatumPhyteuma spicatumPhyteuma spicatum, or spiked rampion, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the family Campanulaceae....
- Spiked Rampion - Phyteuma tenerum
- Phyteuma vagneri
- Phyteuma zahlbruckneri
The name Rampion is also sometimes applied to the related Rampion Bellflower Campanula rapunculus.
The round-headed rampion is known colloquially in the county of Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
as the pride of Sussex. It is also the County flower
County flowers of the United Kingdom
The following are the flowers selected for the historic counties of the United Kingdom in Plantlife's 2002 "County Flowers" campaign...
of Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
.