Wahlenbergia

Wahlenbergia is a genus of between 150-270 species of flowering plants in the family Campanulaceae, with a cosmopolitan distribution except for North America; the highest species diversity is in Africa and Australasia. Wahlenbergia species have dispersed widely, even to oceanic islands, and there are four species known from the island of St Helena, including the now extinct species Wahlenbergia roxburghii.


Selected species

St Helena (South Atlantic Ocean)
Wahlenbergia angustifolia (also called Small Bellflower) is a species of plant in the Campanulaceae family. It is endemic to Saint Helena. Its natural habitat is rocky areas. It is endangered because of habitat loss.

Wahlenbergia linifolia (also called Large Bellflower) is a species of plant in the Campanulaceae family. It is endemic to Saint Helena. Its natural habitat is rocky areas. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Wahlenbergia roxburghii (Roxburgh bellflower or dwarf cabbage tree) is an extinct member of four species of Wahlenbergia once known from the island of St Helena, in the South Atlantic Ocean. It was last seen by naturalist John Charles Melliss in 1872.

Wahlenbergia burchellii


South America
Wahlenbergia peruviana

Wahlenbergia linarioides


New Zealand
Wahlenbergia cartilaginea

Wahlenbergia matthewsii

Wahlenbergia albomarginata

Wahlenbergia tuberosa

Wahlenbergia congesta


Europe
Wahlenbergia nutabunda

Wahlenbergia hederacea (Ivy-leaved Bellflower)


Australia
Wahlenbergia gloriosa, or royal bluebell, is an Australian wildflower from the Campanulaceae family. It grows in high rainfall (for Australia) areas in the alps, in environs ranging from shady roadside cuttings on Mount Hotham to full sun herbfields on the Main range.
Wahlenbergia gloriosa has small dark green leaves in rosettes, to 2 cm. The flowers are a deep blue/purple colour, and are very eyecatching. The colour is not reproducible on a computer screen or normal film (being a shade of violet, rather than purple). It grows as a suckering herb. The flower is the floral emblem of the Australian Capital Territory.

Wahlenbergia stricta, or Australian Bluebell, Tall or Austral Bluebell, is an Australian wildflower from the Campanulaceae family. It is probably the most commonly encountered of the Wahlenbergias. It is found in all Australian states but not the Northern Territory. It is often seen growing by the side of the road, enjoying the extra runoff.
Wahlenbergia stricta is a perennial herb flowering mainly in spring or summer with pale blue bell-like flowers. The leaves are long and linear, 35 to 50 centimetres long. The five-petalled flowers are erect on long, slender stems and about 1.5 to 2.5 centimetres in diameter. It forms thin, carrot shaped tubers. Australian bluebells are generally easily propagated by division or root cutting. The seed is a very fine, black powder. It germinates readily in a few weeks and is best directly sown into tubes or cells as the seed and plant are very small and hard to separate and prick out.
 

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