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Bible Encyclopedias
Harebell
1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
or (sometimes wrongly written:;,Hairbell), known also as the blue-bell of Scotland, and witches' thimbles, a well-known perennial wild flower, Campanula rotundifolia, a member of the natural order Campanulaceae. The harebell has a very slender slightly creeping root-stock, and a wiry, erect stem. The radical leaves, that is, those at the base of the stem, to which the specific name rotundifolia refers, have long stalks, and are roundish or heart-shaped with crenate or serrate margin; the lower stem leaves are ovate or lanceolate, and the upper ones linear, subsessile, acute and entire, rarely pubescent. The flowers are slightly drooping, arranged in a panicle, or in small specimens single, having a smooth calyx, with narrow pointed erect segments, the corolla bell-shaped, with slightly recurved segments, and the capsule nodding, and opening by pores at the base. There are two varieties: - (a) genuina, with slender stem leaves, and (b) montana, in which the lower stem-leaves are broader and somewhat elliptical in shape. The plant is found on heaths and pastures throughout Great Britain and flowers in late summer and in autumn; it is widely spread in the north temperate zone. The harebell has ever been a great favourite with poets, and on account of its delicate blue colour has been considered as an emblem of purity.
These files are public domain.
Chisholm, Hugh, General Editor. Entry for 'Harebell'. 1911 Encyclopedia Britanica. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/bri/h/harebell.html. 1910.
