Tas. 8168. 
PRIMULA suscarroIpEs. 
Western China. 
PRIMULACEAE. Tribe PRIMULEAE. 
Primvuta, Linn.; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant. vol. ii. p. 631. 
Primula (§Soldanelloideae) musearioides, Hemsl. in Kew Bull. 1907, p. 319; 
ex affinitate P. cernuae, Franch., et P. deflexae, Duthie, ab illa foliis 
distincte crenatis, ab hac foliis majoribus crenatis, calyce efarinoso et 
corollae lobis vix emarginatis differt. 
‘olia rosulata, subcarnosa, laete viridia, obovato-spathulata, 10-12 em. longa, 
apice rotundata, deorsum attenuata sed non vere petiolata, crenato-dentata, 
ciliolata, supra pilis mollibus obscuris parce vestita, subtus glabra vel cito 
glabrescentia, inter venas primarias leviter bullata, costa carnosa crassa. 
Scapi erecti, quam folia fere duplo longiores. Bracteolae lineares, calyce 
breviores. Flores numerosi, densissime capitato-spicati, deflexi; spicae 
2°5-3°5 em. longae. Calyx campanulatus; lobi erecti, inaequales, ovato- 
oblongi, posteriore latiore 2- vel 3-dentato florum superiorum atropurpureo. ° 
Corolla anguste infundibularis, vix 1 cm. longa, saturate purpureo-coerulea 
vel fere violacea; lobi quam tubus cylindricus dimidio breviores, sub- 
truneati, suberecti, obscure emarginati, circiter 38 mm. lati. Antherae 
subsessiles, tubo infra medium affixae. Stylus tubum paullo excedens. 
Capsula ignota. 
At first sight this striking Primula was taken for P. 
defleca, Duthie, which, however, has fewer and larger flowers, 
with the limb of the corolla broader and cup-shaped, whiie 
the lobes are broader and distinctly notched. <As stated in the 
Kew Bulletin, P. cernua, Franchet, P. pinnatifolia, Franchet, 
P. deflexa, Duthie, and the present species are very closely 
allied and perhaps not all deserving of specific rank, but 
with the material we have before us it is preferable to keep 
them separate. Wilson’s dried specimen, n. 4036, is quite 
similar in aspect, but the leaves are much more hairy and 
the calyx is mealy. P. muscarioides has, so far as the Kew 
material goes, almost sessile anthers near the base of the 
corolla tube, and the stigma projects slightly from the 
mouth of the tube. P. cernua, in the only specimen examined, 
has the anthers attached near the top of the tube and the 
style is only about 34, of an inch long. In Wilson’s 4036, 
which has been referred to P. deflexa, the anthers are 
attached a little above the middle of the corolla-tube and 
December, 1907. 
