400 



PRI 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



PRI 



and, in allusion to Queen Elizabeth's institution of tall mili- 

 tary courtiers called pensioners, says, 



" The Cowslips all, her pensioners be." 



The epithet Veris is improperly applied to the Cowslip, 

 which flowers later than the Primrose. OJficinalis is more 

 proper, it having been most used in medicine. For their 

 culture, see the second species. 



2. Primula Farinosa; Bird's-eye Primrose. Leaves ob- 

 long, toothletted, waved, mealy underneath; umbel erect, 

 fastigiate; border of the corolla flat. Root perennial, some- 

 what praemorse, sweet-scented, and having numerous long per- 

 pendicular fibres. This elegant plant is a native of many 

 parts of Europe, especially the most northern; and also of 

 Siberia: with us it is found in Yorkshire and Westmoreland, 

 in wet or boggy pastures, or by the side of rills, flowering 

 in July and August. The flowers are of a beautiful rose 

 colour, varying with shades of purple, and they have been 

 found entirely white. The plant varies also much in its size : 

 it has been found by Mr. Curtis in a bog in Skirrith wood 

 near Ingleton, a foot and half high ; and in the cultivated plant 

 he has observed a tendency to be viviparous, to produce one or 

 more tufts of leaves among the flowers of the umbel. In its 

 wild state it seeds readily, and frequently when cultivated. 

 Towards the end of September the outer leaves fade, and the 

 head of the plant forms itself into a knob or button, a kind 

 of hybernacle; in the spring it extends, and the leaves then 

 appear wholly white and mealy; the corolla continues to enve- 

 lop the germen till it has almost arrived at maturity, forming 

 a sort of calyptre to it. In habit this species approaches 

 most nearly to Androsace and Aretia: in those genera, how- 

 ever, the tube of the corolla is oval, not cylindrical, and its 

 orifice is more or less closed with glands; whereas in all the 

 Primulas that part is open, and only slightly crenated. 

 Nevertheless these three genera, and even Cortusa, might 

 perhaps be united without any great violence to nature. It 

 is scarcely worth the pains to raise this plant from seed, since 

 a strong root may be divided so as to form many plants; the 

 best time for doing this is in the spring, soon after the leaves 

 are expanded. Place each offset in a separate pot, filled with 

 two parts of stiffish loam, and one part light sandy bog-earth; 

 water and set them in the shade, under a north wall or paling, 

 but not under trees; keep them there during summer in pans 

 of water, but in the autumn, as the wet season comes on. take 

 them out of the pans, and either lay the pots on their sides, 

 or place them during the winter under a common Cucumber 

 frame, to keep them from immoderate wet, which this plant 

 cannot bear, although it be a native of boggy meadows. 

 The next, if not the same year, these plants will blow 

 strong, and thus they should be treated every year, for 

 Primulas in general require to have their roots frequently 

 parted. 



6. Primula Longifolia; Long-leaved Bird's-eye Primrose. 

 Leaves spatulate, toothletted, naked on both sides, after flow- 

 ering elongated, almost erect ; umbel erect, many-flowered. 

 This bears a great affinity to the preceding, but the leaves 

 differ in form, colour, and mode of growth; when fully grown, 

 they are twice the length of those of the other: they are not 

 mealy, the under side being as green as the upper; and they 

 have a greater tendency to grow upright. The scape is 

 shorter and thicker. The flowers form a similar umbel, but 

 are smaller than the preceding, and less brilliant in colour. 

 It flowers in May. Native country unknown. It is a hardy 

 plant, of ready growth, and will succeed either in the pot or 

 border, by guarding it from the sun in summer, and from 

 severe frost and too much wet in winter. It is increased by 

 parting the roots either in September or at the beginning 



of March, and is very liable to be infested with aphides or 

 plant-lice. 



7. Primula Cortusoides; Cortusa-leaved Primrose. Leaves 

 wrinkled, lobed ; scape many-flowered. In the wrinkled 

 appearance of its foliage this approaches to the Common 

 Primrose; whilst in its inflorescence, the colour of its flowers, 

 and solitary scape, which rises to an unusual height, it bears 

 an affinity to the lii'th species. In the winter it loses the 

 leaves entirely, and forms a sort of bulbous hybernacle above 

 ground, which circumstance should be generally known, as 

 many are deceived thereby, and throw the plants away as if 

 dead. The flowers 'are purple, and very handsome; they 

 appear in June and July. Native of Siberia. This being a 

 rare plant, it must be carefully treated, as was directed for 

 the last species. It may be raised from seeds, or increased 

 by parting the roots; but is liable to be lost, without careful 

 attendance. 



8. Primula Villosa; Mountain Primrose. . Leaves flat, 

 serrulate, hirsute, or subvillose. This is a very valuable 

 plant. Native of the mountains of Carinthia and Switzer- 

 land, and common along the whole chain of the Alps from 

 Monte Vesulo into Savoy, and thence to Switzerland. 

 It may be treated in the same way as the three former sorts. 

 See also the twelfth species. 



9. Primula Nivalis; Snow Primrose. Leaves lanceolate, 

 flat, sharply toothed, very smooth. -Native of the mountains 

 of Dauria. See the twelfth species. 



10. Primula Longiflora; Long-flowered Primrose. Leaves 

 serrate, smooth; umbel nodding; tube of the corolla very 

 long. It differs from the fifth species, in having the leaves 

 less mealy, and less deeply toothed, the scapes higher, four 

 flowers in the umbel, with the leaves of the involucre longer, 

 the tube of the corolla three times as long, and the segments 

 of the border narrower, and of a violet purple colour. Native 

 of the mountains of the Upper Valais, Tyrol, Carinthia, Car- 

 niola, Italy, and Croatia. 



11. Primula Glutinosa; Glutinous Primrose. Leaves ser- 

 ruhite, smooth, glutinous; leaflets of the involucre very large. 

 Native of the higher Alps, bordering on the ice and snow 

 in Upper Carinthia and the Tyrol. 



12. Primula Marginata; Silver-edged Primrose. Leaves 

 obovate, serra'te, toothed, white-edged; scape many-flowered; 

 leaflets of the involucre shorter than the peduncle. In its 

 farinaceous tendency it resembles the next species, but is 

 very unlike it in its wild state, the leaves being narrower, and 

 the flowers larger arid of a different colour. It is a delicate 

 pretty plant, with a pleasing musky smell, and flowers of an 

 uniform deep lilac, appearing in March and April. To suc- 

 ceed in its cultivation, it will be necessary to place it in a pot^ 

 of stiflish loam, mixed with one-third rotten leaves, bog-earth, 

 or dung, and plunged in a north border, taking care that it 

 does not suffer for want of water in dry seasons: when thus 

 treated, it increases by its roots almost as readily as the 

 Auriculoe, and may be propagated by parting them in April 

 and September. The other alpine Primulee may be treated in 

 the same manner. 



13. Primula Auricula; Auricula, or Bear's Ear. Leaves 

 obovate, smooth, serrate; scape many-flowered, about the 

 length of the leaves. Native of the alps of Switzerland, Ger- 

 many, Carniola, &c. This is the origin of all the fine pow- 

 dered garden Auriculas : in its wild state the leaves are less 

 powdery, the edges partially but ftften coarsely serrated, 

 and their form broadly and obtusely obovate, of a lax, 

 leathery, twisted habit; the flowers small and yellow, some- 

 times purple or red; their scent very agreeable. To enume- 

 rate all the diversities of this plant produced by cultivation, 



