Campanula jacquinii

Perennial of the Campanulaceae family, this species is native to the Eastern Alps and the Carpathians, where it occupies calcareous rocks and scree, cliff fissures, and rocky alpine grasslands, generally between 1,500 and 2,500 meters.

It forms small low and compact tufts, hardly exceeding 10 to 20 cm in height, with short upright stems. The foliage is composed of oval to oblong leaves, toothed to lobed, of a medium green slightly grayish, with a somewhat rough texture, arranged in well-marked basal rosettes.

What immediately distinguishes this bellflower from most of its congeners is the very particular morphology of its inflorescences: the flowers, gathered in dense globular heads superficially reminiscent of certain Scabious or Phyteumas, have very narrowly cut lobes spread out in a star shape, of a delicate pale lilac-pink, giving the glomerules a bristly and airy appearance quite unique in the Campanula genus.

In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from July to August.

In cultivation, it requires excellent drainage, poor calcareous soil, and full sun exposure. A demanding collector's plant, it is suitable for carefully tended alpine rockeries, gravel gardens, or container cultures with mineral substrate, sheltered from stagnant winter moisture.