Othran's Bell

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Otran's bell (lat. Campanula autraniana) - a rare species of perennial plants of the genus Bell (lat. Campanula), belonging to the family of the same name Bellflower (lat. Campanulaceae). It is distinguished by semi-leathery green leaves, purple bell-shaped flowers of medium size and the absence of pubescence on all aerial parts of the plant. A low-growing plant that prefers slightly alkaline soil, suitable for rocky gardens. The plant is frost-hardy, but in very cold winters it requires additional shelter.

What's in your name

In the Latin species epithet of the plant name "autraniana" the name of the Austrian botanist Eugene Autran (1855-1912), who worked in Geneva, and later in Argentina, is immortalized.

The first botanist to describe this species of the Kolokolchik genus was a Russian botanist and traveler, Nikolai Mikhailovich Albov (1866 - 1897), who traveled several times across the Caucasus, studying the flora of this region. It is interesting that he received financial assistance for his scientific travels in the Caucasus not from Russian organizations, but from the community of botanists working in Geneva, including Eugene Otrand. Since there was no work in the field of botany for Nikolai Albov in Russia, he was forced to leave to work in Argentina, which, most likely, was facilitated by Otrand. So, assigning this epithet to the bell, Albov thereby expressed gratitude to Otrand for his disinterested support.

Description

The branchy thin rhizome of the Otran Bell is the guarantor of the plant's longevity. It spreads horizontally, creating green loose clumps of basal leaves.

From the rhizome to the surface of the earth, twisting thin stems are born, often recumbent, and therefore the height of the plant reaches a maximum of twenty centimeters.

Basal long-petiolate leaves are glabrous, ovoid-heart-shaped. The surface of the leaf plate is semi-leathery, and the edge is decorated with a serrated-toothed border, which gives the leaves a decorative look. The leaves, located on the stem, have shorter petioles, and higher along the stem they completely turn into sessile ones. The shape of the stem leaves is oblong-lanceolate.

In early summer, the curtain is covered with abundant flowering. Bright purple single flowers on long slender pedicels fervently rise above the green leaves of the curtain. They have a traditional bell shape and are medium in size. The pointed tips of the flower petals are light purple, and the bell jaws are bluer with a white spot in the center. Fading, the bells droop to the surface of the earth. The base of the delicate floral corolla is protected by a cup made of linear-toothed sepals.

The fruit of the plant is a dry seed box with small brown seeds. The seeds, once in the soil, are in no hurry to germinate, therefore, when growing the Otran Bell in flower beds, they are subjected to cold stratification for three to four months.

Member of the Red Book of Russia

Otran's bell is a very rare occurrence on our planet. To date, in the wild, it is met by humans only on the limestone rocks of the Western Caucasus. Therefore, flower growers who manage to "tame" a generally very unpretentious and frost-resistant plant in their flower beds, help a beautiful plant not to disappear from the face of the Earth.

Growing conditions

A plant growing on rocks is more suitable for a slightly alkaline soil with good drainage, which does not contribute to stagnation of water and a sunny place.

The cold resistance of the plant does not negate the additional shelter for the winter of the place of its growth with straw, mulch or coniferous spruce branches, especially in cold winters with little snow.