creeping bellflower (Campanula rapunculoides)
non-native
picture taken in june
creeping bellflower is an escape artist! it is a pretty garden flower which frequently escapes gardens and roams out into the wild, particularly roadsides and waste areas. one of the downsides of an easy-to-grow plant. it's considered invasive in a few states, but not here yet.
creeping bellflower has multiple methods of spreading - by root and by seed - and produces a large quantity of seeds per plant. it's resistant to many herbicides and you have to dig up all the roots multiple times to fully get rid of it. new plants can grow just from small bits of root left in the dirt. the plants themselves can grow to be quite tall - up to three and a half feet or so!
creeping bellflower shoots, leaves, and roots are all edible. apparently the leaves are high in vitamin C!
creeping bellflower blooms from june to september.