PRIMULA. 



comparison with the ample rosettes of toothed oval leaves, so P. 

 pusilla lias a very tiny tuft of foliage, very deeply feathered into teeth 

 at tho edges', and making so neat a little star, outspread upon the 

 ground, that the frail stem of four inches or so, beneath its load of 

 one, two, or three glutinosa-liko blossoms, dcep-violot and deeply- 

 cloven in the lobes, seems altogether too heavily laden. It will want 

 caro and specially dainty treatment in the special bed or moraino, yet 

 proves an easier, better doer than P. betta under similar conditions. 



P. pycnoldba takes us back to the woods of Szcchuan, thero to find 

 one of the oddest freaks in the race — yet another species that shares 

 the longing of P. Pardomii to be a Narcissus, though it has chosen a 

 different model. Close to the ground, on quito short and densely fluffy 

 fat stems, appear the typical fat and crinkly glossy -green lobed 

 heart-shaped leaves of the Woodland section ; then in their midst a 

 shaggy stem rises well above them, to some 4 or 5 inches. And 

 now, having been a characteristic forest -Primula so far, tho plant 

 suddenly declares that it is a Daffodil. The loose heads of flower 

 unfold. The shaggy calyx is their dominant feature. This is of 

 immense size, dowdily green (said to be creamy white, however, by 

 some), and cut into five very long, sharp, and ragged lobes, like a 

 perianth, in the middle of which appear the long narrow white 

 trumpets of the flower, ending in its five-lobed mouth of dark red 

 — so that tho loose clusters on the stems seem exactly like a collection 

 of most eccentric shaggy little five-segmented Daffodils, with a dim 

 red rim to tho minute five-flanged trumpet. This ambitious oddity 

 is quite easy to cultivate in the woodland soil and conditions that 

 suit Cortusa, and rapidly spreads in the ground by little root-buds, 

 that can easily be taken off and grown on elsewhere. Its only fad is a 

 craving for being allowed to rest in peace in the winter without 

 getting water-logged or rained on excossively. As I have seen this 

 it is Ike a very poor Galligaskins. 



P. racemosa is only a poor P. batangensis. 



P. reddens is a pink-flowered cousin to P. Forrestii. 



P. reflexa stands doubtfully, in the Sikkiniensis group, but has 

 rather different foliage. The tall stems bear a drooping head of 

 flowers that have not quite made up their minds to be of clean pink 

 or clean purple, so compromise on an unalluring chalky tone. It is of 

 easy culture in any conditions of rich soil and reasonable moisture. 



P. Reidii, however, is not only ono of the loveliest jewels in the 

 race, but in the world. It comes from damp rocks high up in Kumaon, 

 near the glaciers; and its leaves are like those of a Primrose, if a 

 Primrose-leaf can be imagined densely shaggy with long hairs of blown- 



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