PRIMULA. 



two making it a variety of the true P. cortusoeides. It has also been 

 called P. patens (Turcz.) and P. gracilis (Stein) — the one valid name 

 being the oldest, P. Sieboldii, Morren ; while the only P. cortusoeides 

 is the original and distinct species of Linnaeus, a native of Northern 

 Asia (very rare to-day in gardens, where its place is always taken 

 either by P. Sieboldii or P. saxatilis). P. Sieboldii is restricted to 

 Japan and Transbaikalia ; whereas P. cortusoeides, ranging all over 

 Russia and Mongolia, does not cross the sea to Japan, and has close 

 tight short-pedicelled heads of blossom. 



P. sihhimensis is one of the grandest beauties of the race, with its 

 great tall tufts of long oval saw-edged leaves, and the many much taller 

 powdered stems in June, swinging out a wide loose head of hanging 

 wide bells in the loveliest shade of soft milan-souffle yellow, waxen 

 in texture without, and bloomy with delicious white meal within, as 

 clean and sweet as the sweet clean fragrance of the flower. This is 

 the ready and hearty glory of any deep rich and boggy soil ; it must 

 not be looked on to attain the Psalmist's term, but is most wisely to 

 be treated as a triennial, with seed annually raised from the pods it 

 so profusely produces, and among whose results occasionally a strain 

 of even especial grandeur and loveliness may be secured and fixed. 



P. silaensis is a lovely unknown species of the Amethystine group, 

 with horny margins to the foliage, and pendent bells of blue-violet, 

 on foot-stalks longer than among the Soldanella section, though the 

 flowers are the same in their shape, and in their reduced number on 

 the gracious stems of 4 or 5 inches. 



P. simensis is the only African Primula — an extension of P. verticil- 

 lata, from the neighbouring coasts of Asia into the mountains of 

 Abyssinia. It has, of course, no use for us. 



P. similis, Stein, is P. Obristii, Beck. See under P. auricula. 



P. Simsii (Sweet). See under P. villosa. 



P. sinensis has no use for us — though in cool wet places by the water- 

 falls of the large rock-garden it might be permissible, and would 

 certainly be beautiful, to use the simple stellate wild forms as annuals, 

 as is done on the Riviera. 



P. sinensis (nivalis), Pax. See under P. nivalis, Pallas. 



P. sinolisteri is a microform of P. obconica. 



P. sinomollis, a greenhouse thing from China, there replacing the 

 Lidian P. mollis, and having the same immense soft crinkled and lobed 

 foliage to the same tiered and shaggy spire, scantily set with red-pink 

 flowers. It proves hardy with us, if planted out under Rhododendrons. 



P. sinoplantaginea. See under P. nivalis, Pallas. 



P. sinopurpurea. See under P. nivalis, Pallas. 



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