American bellflower

Campanulastrum americanum (L.) Small

American bellflower stretches the idea of a bell. Its blue to violet corolla spreads into a shallow, five-lobed star or saucer, with a pale ring near the centre. A long, curved style projects well beyond it. Flowers appear along the upper part of a tall, mostly unbranched stem, giving a succession of small faces rather than one broad flower head. Missouri Department of Conservation: Tall Bellflower

Botanical name

Campanulastrum americanum (L.) Small is accepted in the cited taxonomic treatment. The supplied database name identifies the same species. Kew POWO: Campanulastrum americanum

Recognizing the plant

The plant can be annual or biennial. In the biennial pattern, it begins as a low rosette, then sends up its flowering stem in the following growing season. Individual blossoms are brief, but more continue to open. Older references often use Campanula americana, a name Kew treats as a synonym. Whether encountered as a first-year rosette or a tall flowering plant, it remains the same species at a different stage of its short life. Missouri Department of Conservation: Tall Bellflower NC State Extension: American Bellflower Kew POWO: Campanulastrum americanum

Bloom window

Missouri, United States

In Missouri, the main flowering period is described as July to September. Missouri Department of Conservation: Tall Bellflower

Native range

Campanulastrum americanum is native from eastern Canada through much of the central and eastern United States. Moist woodland edges, open woods and streamside places are characteristic settings. Missouri Department of Conservation: Tall Bellflower Kew POWO: Campanulastrum americanum

Ecological relationships

The Missouri account identifies long-tongued bees, including bumblebees and leaf-cutting bees, as pollinators. Missouri Department of Conservation: Tall Bellflower

Botanical sources

Reviewed 2026-10-11. Seasonal development varies with location and growing conditions.