Of the numerous Bell-flowers which abound in the Alps none is more quaint and beautiful than the one here photographed. The whole plant, stem, leaves, and flowers, is covered with short hairs, but around the mouth of the bell the hairs are longer and stiffer, and pure white. It is interesting to note that when cultivated in rockeries in England the hairy character of the plant almost entirely disappears. Some three to five pendent flowers are borne by each flower-stalk, all turned in the same direction. Occasionally a single flowered variety is met with, usually at a high altitude. The ordinary pale blue colour of the flower may disappear entirely, and specimens with pure white blossoms are not infrequent. The plant is found abundantly all over the Alps and Sub-Alps, in meadows and pastures, and to a less extent in open woods, from 3000 feet almost to the snowline (7000 to 9000 feet). It is usually less abundant on limestone than on other rocks. The Bearded Bell-flower is also met with in the Carpathians, Jura, southern parts of Norway, and in other mountainous districts in Europe. It is probably a native of the Alps.

No difficulty will be experienced in recognising the Bearded Campanula. No other Bell-flower has little projections between each of the five teeth of the calyx which are turned back towards the stem. Only one other Bell-flower (Campanula Zoysii), and that a species not always recognised as distinct, has a light blue corolla with long hairs around its mouth. But here there is a constriction just immediately below the opening of the bell, and the plant is smaller and very rare, and occurs only in Eastern Switzerland.