Legousia pentagonia

Legousia pentagonia is a small plant in the bellflower family, Campanulaceae. It is an annual, so it lives for one year. Its native range runs from Greece east to Iran. Records list Crete, Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia, and western Iran. They also list Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. Kew places it in the temperate climate zone. The RHS lists it as non-native to Britain and Ireland. It has two older names: Specularia pentagonia and Campanula pentagonia. These can help when you check old plant records. In the wild, it grows in grain fields and disturbed ground.

The plant grows about 1 foot [0.3 metres] tall. Unlike this annual, perennial bellflowers live for more than one year. The sources give no mature width or wider height range. They give no clear details of the stems or leaves. PFAF says it flowers in July and August. Each flower has both male and female organs. This alone does not show how pollination takes place. The sources give no details of flower colour or shape. They give no fruit details, so these traits remain unclear.

For garden use, choose an open site with direct sun. PFAF says it grows with ease in good garden soil. It also says the plant will not grow in shade. It can grow in sand, loam, or clay soil. The soil may be mildly acid, neutral, or mildly alkaline. It prefers moist soil. The evidence does not show whether it can cope with drought. The sources list garden beds as a place to grow it. Sow seed in spring where you want the plants to grow. Cover the seed with just a thin layer of soil. The sources give no hardiness rating or clear watering plan.

PFAF lists the leaves and shoots as parts to eat. It says tender young shoots are fit to eat raw. It gives food use a score of two out of five. It lists no known uses in medicine and no other uses. PFAF reports no known hazards for this plant. This does not prove it safe for each person or pet. Its weed-potential entry is negative, though it grows on disturbed ground. The sources name no pests or diseases. They give no grounds to claim it resists either.