The young shoots may be blanched like asparagus and prepared in the same manner. The leaves can be used in the summer and autumn as a substitute for spinach. The larger roots are reserved for boiling, sometimes the young roots are eaten raw with vinegar and pepper, and occasionally the leaves, as well as the roots, are eaten as a winter salad. They are sweetish, with a slight pungency, but though wholesome, are considered inferior to other roots now more widely grown for culinary use. It is still much cultivated in France, Germany and Italy, and occasionally here, for the roots which are boiled tender like parsnips and eaten hot with a sauce. The name Rampion is derived from its Latin specific name, Rapunculus, a diminutive of rapa (a turnip). The Rampion formerly regularly cultivated in English kitchen gardens, and much valued as a wholesome esculent vegetable, is seldom grown for use now, though its graceful flowers are sometimes seen to advantage in the borders as an ornamental plant. Habitat-The plant is found wild in England, on gravelly roadsides and hedgebanks and in open pastures, from Stafford southwards, but it is uncertain whether it should be held as a true native in the localities in southern England, where it is now established. ![]() Rampion Botanical: Campanula rapunculus (LINN.)
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