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Zois' bellflower

Zois' bellflower

Blue-violet endemic of the Slovenian mountains

In July and August, you will find the light blue-violet bellflower in the Julian and Kamnik-Savinja Alps, in the Karawanks, and a smaller site in the Trnovo Forest Plateau. It grows only in our region and is named after the botanist Karl Zois.
Zois's bellflower is a Slovenian endemic. The mouth of its blue-violet flowers is so narrow that insects cannot pass through it. To pollinate the flower, they have to make a hole in it.

 

 

 

 

 

Zois' bellflower (Campanula zoysii)

Size
  • about 10 cm
Bloomig period
  • July - August
Habitat
  • rock crevices and overhangs
Distribution

  • Slovenian endemic; Julian Alps, Kamnik-Savinja Alps, Karawanks, Trnovo Forest Plateau
   
Kingdom
  • Plantae
Phylum
  • Magnoliophyta
Class
  • Magnoliopsida
Order
  • Asterales
Family
  • Campanulaceae
Genus
  • Campanula
Species
  • Zois's bellflower (Campanula zoysii)

 

More than 200 years ago, the younger brother of the famous Žiga Zois discovered this Slovenian beauty. It was named after him and its bell-shaped form. Its flowers are composed of five petals, five sepals, five stamens, and an inferior ovary.

The mouth of the corolla is not open like in other bellflower species but narrows instead. Insects cannot pass through it, so they have to make a hole in the floral cup. This is also why the flowers of mature plants are almost always damaged.

You will most often find this approximately ten-centimeter-high flower in rock crevices. Usually, only a few flowers are present, but if you’re lucky, you might encounter true violet carpets of bellflowers cascading over the rocks.

DID YOU KNOW?

  1. Zois's bellflower grows along the paths to Triglav, Škrlatica, and Prisank, as well as in the Kamnik-Savinja Alps along the routes to Storžič and Grintovec.