Phyteuma

Phyteuma is a genus of flowering plants in the family Campanulaceae, native to Europe and Morocco. The common name is rampion, a name shared with the related plant Campanula rapunculus. Rampion features prominently in some versions of the fairy tale Rapunzel. In the version collected by the Brothers Grimm, it is said that "rapunzel" is the name given to a local variety of rampion. The species are herbaceous perennial plants, growing to 5–90 cm tall. The leaves are alternate, petiolate, and vary in shape on a single plant, with larger, broader leaves at the base of the stem and smaller, narrower leaves higher up; the leaf margin is serrated. The flowers are produced in dense erect panicles, each flower with a narrow, deeply five-lobed corolla, 1–2 cm or more long), mostly purple, sometimes pale blue, white or pink. The fruit is a capsule containing numerous small seeds.