Harebell / Spring / Summer / Edible
Harbell produces one of my absolute favourite flowers, I like candying them and popping them ontop of cakes I make, although the leaves are also edible I don’t tend to eat them that often, possibly because I’m soo drawn to the flowers I think about nothing else.
Common Names
Harebell, Scottish bluebell, Bluebell of Scotland, Witched Thimble, Fairy Thimbles
Botanical Name
Campanula rotundifolia
Scientific Classification
Kingdom – Plantae
Order – Asterales
Family – Campanulaceae
Genus – Rotundifolia
Lookalikes for Harebell
You may confuse this delicate flower with other Harebells such as the Creeping Bellflower (Campanula trachelioides) and others in the Campanulaceae family. Luckily none of these are toxic and all are edible.
You also want to be mindful of the common Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) which is toxic – especially because their common name is sometimes Bluebell and they both have a blue/purple bell-shaped flower. Bluebells will be found in shaded woodlands, the leaves are long and thin and the blooms are a lot narrower with more clusters on the flower stem. The harebell is considerably more delicate.
Range and Distribution
Very common throughout the UK and temperate regions of the Northern hemisphere.
Habitat
Grasslands, meadows, and sometimes sand dunes. Prefers dry and poor soil.
Physical Characteristics of Harebell
A herbaceous perennial growing from rhizomes with a very delicate bell-shaped blue flower.
Leaves
The basal leaves are a rounded heart shape with a lobed/toothed margin. Further up the leaves become very long and narrow and loose the toothed edge to the leaf.
Flowers
A beautiful delicate violet-blue bell-shaped flower consisting of 5 petals flowering in the summer months. You may also come across pale pink and white blooms.
Edible Uses of Harebell
The leaves are slightly bitter and can be added to salads or wilted down as a green.
The flowers make a lovely decoration for cakes and desserts or as a garnish.
Myth, Folklore & Other Uses
The Harebell is shrouded in myth and magic, especially in Scotland with connections to the fairy kingdom and hell. It is believed that witches would have used the flowers in spells and potions to transmute into hares. The Victorian’s believed that fairies slept in the bells.
You can make a blue dye from the flowers which has been traditionally used in Scotland to dye tartan.
Learn a little more on their Scottish Folklore here