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28 Jun 2009

the commonest of all bellflowers

Campanula patula subsp. patula: the most common bellflower one can imagine.

"Common" of course is the biological name used for the commonest species and translates to "gemein" in German which in older language meant just that, "common", but in modern use almost exclusively is used for "cruel": thus, biological names have been changed from "gemein" to "gewöhnlich" which now carries (almost exclusively) the meaning of "common". So this one here formerly was "Gemeine Wiesenglockenblume" in German (Very Cruel Meadow Bellflower), but now is called "Gewöhnliche Wiesenglockenblume" scientifically.