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Native Plant Propagation Guidelines:
forbs

Triodanis perfoliata var. perfoliata (Venus’s looking-glass)

Category: 
forbs

photo by Vince Scheidt

Erect, annual herbaceous plant reaching 75 cm in height but more commonly < 40 cm. Leaves are alternate with serrate edges, broadly ovate, slightly hairy and clasping a weak stem. Flowers chasmogamous, borne in the axils of upper and middle leaves with bright bluish-purple, tubular, five-lobed petals. Fruit a shiny black capsule, oblong to narrowly egg-shaped, opening above the middle when mature (Douglas et al., 2002; Justice and Bell, 1968; and Radford et al., 1968). Photo by Vince Scheidt.

Scientific Name: 

Triodanis perfoliata [L.] Nieuwl. var. perfoliata (Legousia perfoliata (L.) Britt., Specularia perfoliata [L.] A. DC.)

Family: 
Campanulaceae
English Name: 
Venus's looking glass
Other Names: 
clasping bellwort

Geographical Range and Habitat Requirements

Ecological Setting: 

Common weed species growing in waste places, disturbed sites, pastures, prairies, and roadsides (Seyermark, 1963). Dry woods and open sites (Justice and Bell, 1968).

Soil Texture: 

Coarse-textured and free draining (Justice and Bell, 1968; Haddock, 2000).

Nutrients: 
n/a
Soil Reaction and Salinity: 
n/a
Moisture Regime: 

Dry to moderately dry soils (Douglas et al., 2002).

Shade Tolerance: 

Full sun to partial shade (Seyermark, 1963).

Successional Status: 

Pioneer seral species on moister sites. Possible climax species on dry sites (USDA, 2002).

BEC Zone and GOE Community Status: 

Infrequent occurrence on S.E. Vancouver Island in association with Lathyrus nevasensis, Cammassia quamash and Dodecatheon hendersonii (Specimen notes, University of Victoria Herbarium).

Uses

Site Rehabilitation: 

Useful for attracting pollinating insects. Fibrous roots have the capacity to stabilize disturbed soils (USDA, 2002; Haddock 2000).

Wildlife: 

Attracts mega-chilid bee, sphecid wasps, leatherwing beetles (Gara and Meunhow, 1990).

Landscaping: 

Annual species but possible to mass in beds for pleasing purple colour.

First Nations: 

Used as an intestinal medicine by many aboriginal peoples (Moerman, 1998).

Other Uses: 
n/a

Seed Propagation

Flowering Time: 

May - June

Fruit Ripening Time: 

June - July

Seed Collection Time: 

June - August

Crop Intervals: 

Annual

Number of Seeds per Kilogram: 
n/a
Seed Viability: 
n/a
Fruit and Seed Collection and Extraction: 

Collect capsules by hand into collection bags. Allow to dry, and then shake collection bags to release seeds.

Seed Storage: 
n/a
Fruit/Seed Dormancy and Treatment: 

Sow seeds outdoors in flats or containers in late summer or early fall and allow dormancy to be broken naturally.

Vegetative Propagation

Not applicable to annual species.

Outplanting Characteristics and Requirements

Plant in full sun to partial shade in coarse-textured, free-draining soils.

Seed and Cutting Propagation Techniques

n/a

Additional Information and Photos

For more information and pictures, visit the E-Flora BC website at www.eflora.bc.ca.

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