In the Brothers Grimm tale “Rapunzel,” Rapunzel’s mother craves rampion during pregnancy.
The plant grows in the garden of a sorceress who lives next door. After seeing it, Rapunzel’s mother becomes consumed by the desire to eat it. Her husband enters the garden to take some, but the sorceress catches him and demands their unborn child in return.
Rampion is an older name for edible plants in the bellflower family, especially Campanula rapunculus. Some translations use “rapunzel,” “rampion,” or another regional name, which connects the plant to the heroine’s name. Modern readers sometimes mistake it for lettuce because several adaptations simplify the food.
The plant episode explains why the child is given to the sorceress. Years later, the sorceress imprisons Rapunzel in a tower, where her long hair becomes the means by which visitors climb up.