PRIMULA.] PRIMULACEsE. 299 



TRIBE III. HOTTO'NIE.ffi. Ovary superior; ovules anatropous. Capsule 

 valvular. Hihim basal 7. Hottonia. 



TRIBE IV. SAMOLTl ^ffi. Geary inferior ; ovules anatropous. Capsule 

 valvular. Hihim basal 8. Samolus. 



1. PRI'MULA, L. 



Scapigerous, perennial herbs. Flowers in involucrate umbels, white 

 yellow or purple. Calyx 5-toothed or -fid. Corolla funnel- or salver- 

 shaped, throat naked or with 5 swellings ; lobes 5, erect or spreading. 

 Stamens 5, included. Ovary ovoid or globose ; style filiform, stigma capi- 

 tate ; ovules many, amphitropous. Capsule 5-valved at the top, many- 

 seeded, valves simple or 2-fid. Seeds plano-convex, peltate, testa punctate. 

 DISTRIB. Of the Order; species about 50. ETYM. primus, from flower- 

 ing early. Flowers usually dimorphic, having long styles with anthers 

 deep in the tube, or the reverse. 



* Leaves not mealy beneath, wrinkled and loathed. Calyx-title 5-analed. 



1. P. vulga'ris, Huds, ; leaves and umbels subsessile, flowers spreading 

 or subarect, calyx-teeth acuminate, corolla pale yellow, limb flat, throat 

 contracted with thickened folds. Primrose. 



Copses, pastures, and hedgebanks, ascends to 1,600 ft. in Yorkshire ; fl. April- 

 May. Kootstock stout, fleshy. Leases 3-6 in., obovate-spathulate, beneath 

 and inflorescence c'overed with soft jointed hairs. Umbels so sessile that 

 the pedicels resemble scapes, which are about as long as the leaves ; 

 bracts linear. Calyx ^-f in., a little inflated, 5-angled. Corolla 1-1^ in., 

 rarely purplish, greenish when dry ; lobes orbicular, notched. Capmle 

 as long as the calyx-tube, ovoid, on prostrate pedicels. DISTRIB. Europe, 

 except the N.E.; N. Africa. Varies in the inflorescence being sessile (/-*. 

 acautis, Jacq.) or a more or less peduncled umbel (vars. caulencens and inter- 

 media), (if these be not hybrids, as suggested by Baker). The origin of the 

 Polyanthus. For hybrids see P. veris. Rootstock emetic. 



2. P. ela'tior, Jacq. ; petioles winged, umbels peduncled, flowers 

 horizontal or drooping, calyx-teeth acuminate, corolla pale yellow, limb 

 concave, throat open without folds. Oxlip. 



Copses and meadows in Suffolk, Cambridge, and Essex ; fl. April-May. Inter- 

 mediate between P. vulgaris and veris, differing from the former in the less 

 inflated calyx, shorter pedicels, inodorous flowers, and capsule longer than 

 the calyx-tube ; it hence resembles hybrids between P. veris and otfici- 

 nalis, but differs from these by the more villous calyx, paler flowers/and 

 absence of folds at the mouth of the corolla. DISTRIB. Europe from 

 Gothland southwards, excl. Greece and Turkey, Siberia. 



3. P. ve'ris, L. ; petioles winged, umbels peduncled, flowers drooping, 

 calyx -teeth obtuse, corolla buff-yellow funnel-shaped, limb much cupped, 

 throat open with obscure folds. P. officinalis, Jac^. Cowslip, Paigle. 

 Meadows, pastures, and hedgebanks ; ascends to 1,600 ft. in Northumberland; 



fl. April- May. Besides the characters given above, P. ve,~is differs from P. 

 e/atior in the short and ofcen glandular pubescence of the pedicels and 

 calyx ; shorter pedicels ; odorous flowers ; much smaller corolla-limb ; and 

 capsule much shorter than the calyx-tube. DISTRIB. Europe, Siberia, 



