218 THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 
Primula—continued. 
must be carefully administered. A light, airy house, where 
the plants may be kept,mear the glass, is best for these 
Primulas, when in flower, during the winter or spring; 
and a temperature of from 50deg. to 55deg. is better, at 
that period, than a higher one. In potting, the plants 
should be inserted so that, their bases just touch the 
soil when the work is completed; the crowns must not 
A be buried, but, if situated too high, they are always 
— tumbling about afterwards. 
Fig. 270. PRIMULA AURICULA. 
Double varieties of P. sinensis must be propagated 
by cuttings, but some of the semi-double forms repro- 
duce themselves from seed. Old plants, after flowering, 
should be encouraged to start a little growth, when they 
may be cut up, and each division inserted as a cutting. 
Some cultivators surround the base of the stems with 
leaf mould, into which the roots grow, and, when the 
divisions are made, plants instead of cuttings are already 
fit for potting off. Double varieties require culture very 
similar to single ones after they are established, 
but they will bear a little higher temperature 
when flowering. 
Varintizs. Of P. sinensis there are several 
strains which receive separate names, but, for 
general purposes, distinct, fimbriated white and 
_ red varieties are, if kept separate, sufficient. 
A greater diversity can, however, be procured 
by purchasing or saving mixed seeds from good, 
large, fimbriated flowers. The strain is of great 
importance, as there are so many inferior ones. 
All vendors of seed, doubtless, endeavour to 
supply the best quality; but varieties degenerate 
so fast, and all the inferior ones produce seed 
so freely, that the reputed quality is not 
always to be relied on. P. s. jfilicifolia alba, 
filicifolia rubra, fimbriata alba, and fimbriata 
-~ tubra, are those most commonly grown; other 
— zub· varieties of fimbriata are: Alba Magnifica, 
Chiswick Red, Coccinea, Marginata, Meteor, 
Scarlet Gem, Village Maid, and Waltham 
White. Of double varieties, the old Double 
3 _ White is one of the best and most useful winter- 
flowering plants grown. There are a few double 
Scola he Ge Cares, tir ee very. gl 
useful for cutting, are not extensively cul- 
“tivated. ce — — e — 
— 
* 
— 
o 
Primula—continued. 
P. Allionii (Allioni’s).* fl. mauve, with a white eye, large, about 
lin. across, either solitary or in twos, on very short peduncles. 
April. J. obovate or sub-spathulate, when fully developed 
narrowed into a petiole, slightly and irregularly toothed. All 
parts of the plant, except corolla and capsule, are densely clothed 
with a short, glandular pubescence. Mountains north of Mentone. 
(Fl. Ment. 63.) P. tyrolensis, from the Tyrol, is a geographical 
form of this species, 
P. altaica (Altaic).* M. mauve or purplish-crimson, with a yellow 
centre, as large as those of the common Primrose, and numerously 
produced. Spring. l. obovate, younger ones lanceolate, sinuate- 
crenate, or nearly entire, obtuse, marked with narrow veins, and 
slightly mealy. A. Sin. to Sin. Altai, 1819. (P. M. B. xvi. 194.) 
P.amoena (pleasing). A garden synonym of P. cortusoides Sieboldii. 
P. Auricula.* Common Auricula. fl. of various colours, but 
normally yellow, umbellately dispo: on many-flowered stalks; 
tube of corolla gradually widening upwards, nearly three times 
the length of the bell-shaped calyx. Spring. J. oblong-lanceolate 
or obovate, more or less minutely glandular-toothed, fleshy, 
glaucous-mealy. _ A. Sin. European Alps, 1596. A well-known 
species. See Fig. 270. (B. M. 6837; G. M., Ap. 24, 1886; 
J. F. A. 415; R. G. 194 and 195.) P. Balbisii is a pretty, 
ellow-flowered form. P. Goebelii is a natural hybrid, with 
rownish-violet flowers. For cultivation, varieties, &c., see 
P. auriculata (eared).* A. purplish, with a white eye, five or six ~ 
in a drooping umbel; corolla tube lin. to lżin. long, three 
times the length of the calyx, the lobes narrower than those of 
P. farinosa. Early summer. 1. oblong or obovate, smooth, 
slightly crenate, pale but not mealy beneath. h. 4in. Austrian 
mountains, 1825, A preity species, closely allied to P. farinosa, 
but readily distinguished by its much longer flowers. (B. M. 392, 
under name of P. longifolia.) 
P. Balbisii (Balbi’s). A form of P, Auricula. * 
P. Boveana (Bove’s).* Abyssinian Primrose. f. ellow, very 
numerous, on straight, — icels ; Senile tales or thrice 
as long as the calyx, with a slightly-constricted throat. March. 
l., lower ones rosulate, ovate, unequally argutely toothed : upper 
ones whorled, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, sessile, argutely incised- 
toothed, acuminate. h. 6in. Mount Sinai, 1826. Greenhouse. 
(B. M. 2842, under name of P. verticillata.) 
P. calycina (calycine).* G — 
May and June. nce purple, in short-stalked umbels 
P, capitata (headed).* 7. violet-blue, in dense, round heads 
jin. across, and enveloped in a white, mealy powder: scapes 
— bin. to 9in. high. April to June.’ 4 oblong, mealy on the 
er side, sometimes of a golden hue, finely wrinkled and 
Himalaya, 1850. One of the finest speci It makes 
a fine pot-subject, but will not endure a heated greenhouse. It 
should be grown in a cold frame, with plenty of air, and may be 
* 
Fig. 271. PRIMULA CAPITATA, showing Habit and detached Inflorescence. 
