Campanulaceae

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Campanulaceae
Campanula cespitosa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Campanulaceae
Juss.[1]
Genera

See text

The family Campanulaceae (also bellflower family), of the order Asterales, contains nearly 2400 species in 84 genera of herbaceous plants, shrubs, and rarely small trees, often with milky sap.[2] Among them are several familiar garden plants belonging to the genera Campanula (bellflower), Lobelia, and Platycodon (balloonflower). Campanula rapunculus (rampion or r. bellflower) and Codonopsis lanceolata are eaten as vegetables. Lobelia inflata (indian tobacco), L. siphilitica and L. tupa (devil's tobacco) and others have been used as medicinal plants. Campanula rapunculoides (creeping bellflower) may be a troublesome weed, particularly in gardens, while Legousia spp. may occur in arable fields.

Most current classifications include the segregate family Lobeliaceae in Campanulaceae as subfamily

Parishella and Pseudonemacladus. Alternatively, the last three genera are placed in Nemacladoideae, while Cyphocarpus
is placed in its own subfamily, Cyphocarpoideae.

This family is almost cosmopolitan, occurring on all continents except Antarctica. In addition, species of the family are native to many remote oceanic islands and archipelagos. Hawaii is particularly rich, with well over 100 endemic species of Hawaiian lobelioids. Continental areas with high diversity are South Africa, California and the northern Andes.

Habitats range from extreme deserts to rainforests and lakes, from the tropics to the high Arctic (Campanula uniflora), and from sea cliffs to high alpine habitats.

Description

Although most Campanulaceae are

Howellia aquatilis, an elodeid
growing in ponds in SW North America.

There is usually abundant, white latex, but occasionally the exudate is clear and/or very sparse, as in Jasione.

Tubers occur in several genera, e.g. Cyphia.

alternate, more rarely opposite (e. g. Codonopsis) or whorled (Ostrowskia). They are simple (Petromarula one of very few exceptions) entire (repeatedly divided in spp. of Cyanea), but often with dentate margin. Stipules
are absent.

Inflorescences are quite diverse, including both

capitula. In a few species, e. g. Cyananthus lobatus
, flowers are solitary.

protandrous. Petals are fused into a corolla with 3 to 8 lobes. It may be bell- or star-shaped in subfamily Campanuloideae, while tubular and bilaterally symmetric in most Lobelioideae. Blue of various shades is the most common petal colour, but purple, red, pink, orange, yellow, white, and green also occur. The corolla may be down to 1 mm wide and long in some species of Wahlenbergia
. At the other extreme, it reaches a width of 15 cm in Ostrowskia.

Stamens are equal in number to, and alternating with the petals. Anthers may be fused into a tube, as in all species of

Symphyandra
)

Within the family pollen grains are often

tricolpate, or pantoporate
.

Carpel number is usually 2, 3 or 5 (8 in Ostrowskia), and corresponds to the number of stigmatic lobes.

The style is in various ways involved in the "presentation" of the pollen, as in several other families of the order Asterales. In

anthers
. During flowering, it is pushed up by the elongating style and "presented" to visiting pollinators at the apex of the tube, a mechanism described as a pollen pump. The style eventually protrudes through the anther tube, and becomes receptive to pollen. In Campanuloideae, the pollen is instead packed between hairs on the style, gradually being released as the hairs invaginate. Subsequently, the stigmatic lobes unfold, and become receptive.

Bees and birds (particularly hummingbirds and

hawkmoths. Pollination by lizards has been reported for Musschia aurea and Nesocodon
mauritianus.

The ovary is usually inferior or, in some species, semi-inferior. Very rarely is it completely superior (e.g. Cyananthus). In Campanumoea javanica, calyx and corolla diverge from the ovary at different levels.

Berries are a common fruit-type in Lobelioideae (

Clermontia, Centropogon, Cyanea etc.), whilst rare in Campanuloideae (Canarina
being one of few examples). Capsules, with very varying modes of dehiscence, are otherwise the predominating fruit type in the family.

Seeds are mostly small (<2 mm) and numerous.

Subfamilies and genera

The Angiosperm Phylogeny Website divides the family into five subfamilies.[3]

Campanuloideae

Lobelioideae

Cyphioideae

Cyphocarpoideae

Nemacladoideae

As of April 2022, Plants of the World Online includes some genera in Campanulaceae that are not included by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Website:[4][3]

Fossil record

The earliest known occurrence of Campanulaceae

Carpathians, Poland. It is a close relative of the extant Campanula pyramidalis.[6][7]

Chemical compounds

Members of subfamily Lobelioideae contain the alkaloid lobeline. The principal storage carbohydrate of Campanulaceae is inulin, a fructan also occurring in the related Asteraceae.

Literature

References

  1. hdl:10654/18083
  2. S2CID 84676862
    .
  3. ^ a b Stevens, P.F. (2001 onwards). "Campanulaceae". Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  4. ^ "Campanulaceae Juss." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  5. ISBN 9780521592833
    .
  6. ^ [1][dead link]
  7. PMID 26990796
    .

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Campanulaceae&oldid=1217844169"