PRIMULA 



PRIMULA 



2793 



ing or somewhat drooping pedicels, the segms. obcor- 

 date; calyx wide open and shallow-toothed. China. 

 B.M 65S2. Gn. 26:206 and p. 206; 29, p. 241; 51, p. 

 i)0. p. 416; 61, p. 271; 72, pp. 190, 255; 77, p. 630. 

 111.9:401 (house); 35: 245; 40: 208; 47: 28. G.M. 

 44:51. Gn.M. 2:228. G. 7:389; 20:33; 28:128, 129; 

 32:321. C.L.A. 2:233. R.H.S. 39:144. Gt. 43, p. 138. 

 F.R. 1:941. Of late years this species has become a 

 popular winter-blooming pot-plant. The fls. are nearly 

 or quite an inch across in well-grown specimens. There 

 is a var. grandiflora, Hort.. with fls. nearly or quite 1^ 

 in. across. Gn. 51:316; 74, p. 200. J.H. 111.60:196. 

 G.W. 3. p. 109. R.H. 1892, p. 114. Gt. 46, p. 193. S.H. 

 2. p. 52. A. F. 13:1063; 18:43. Gng. 6:245. Some of 

 the large-fld. forms have somewhat lacerated or fringed 

 petals (var. fimbriata, Hort.); var. rdsea, Hort., has 

 rose-colored fls.; var. semi-plena, Hort., has partially 

 doubled fls. (G.M. 46:206); var. superbe, Hort., is a 

 large-fld. race in different colors. (R.H. 1906:448); var. 

 undulata, Hort., has crisped or undulate fls. (R.H. 

 1914:300). Intro. 1880. For history, see Hill, Journ. 

 Genetics. Vol. 2 (1912). P. obconica is very easily 

 grown. Prop, by seed. Persons liable to poisoning 

 he hairs of P. obconica should rinse the hands 

 or exposed parts in alcohol, then wash with soap and 

 water. 



A number of very recent species closely allied to P. 

 obconica are likely to find their way into cult, and per- 

 haps to extend the usefulness and range of this type of 

 primula. Some of these species are: P. ambita, Balf. f., 

 a glabrous type from a dry site, with a remarkable 

 involucre : P. barbicalyx. C. H. Wright, hairy all over and 

 with a bearded calyx, the Ivs. somewhat elongated and 

 with rounded lobes; P. oreodoxa, Franch., in which the 

 characters of P. barbicalyx are more emphasized (the 

 plant cult, under this name is said to be P. saxatilis); 

 P. begonixformis, Petitm., smaller than P. obconica and 

 less hairy: P. pdrra, Balf. f., very dwarf, xeromorphous; 

 P. Vilinoriniana, Petitm., very hairy, Ivs. 2-3 times 

 usual size, scapes short, fls. minute; P. Petit menginii, 

 Bonati. a grotto plant, Ivs. large, membranous, and 

 delicate, scapes very short. 



64. sinolisteri, Balf. f. A recent species of the P. 

 obconica type that promises to be of much horticultural 

 value, since it does not have the irritant hairs, is a free 

 grower, forms compact masses of foliage, and produces 

 many trusses of white sometimes lilac fls.: Ivs. acutely 

 lobed. Yunnan. China. R.H.S. 39:145. Said to have 

 been distributed as P. Listen. 



cc. Lobes of calyx entire, obtuse. 



65. Listen, King (P. obconica vars. rotundifdlia and 

 glabrisccns. Franch.). Lvs. petioled, glabrescent or 

 glabrous, membranacepus, opaque, reniform-orbicular 

 from a cordate base, sinuate-dentate, the lobes irregu- 

 larly few-toothed or subentire, acute; the petioles 

 slender, manifestly longer than the blade, very short- 

 pubescent, glabrescent: scape much shorter than the 

 Ivs.. glabrescent, 3-5-fld.: bracts small, linear: fls. rose; 

 calyx almost glabrous, broad-campanulate. with broad- 

 semiorbicular, obtuse or scarcely mucronulate lobes; 

 corolla-tube almost ^in. long, the lobes oboyate, 

 bilobed, at other times entire or denticulate. Himal- 

 ayas : usually credited to China, but the oriental forms 

 are probably distinct. G.C. III. 53:271. 



ccc. Lobes of calyx denticulate. 



66. malvacea, Franch. (P. langkongensis, Forr.). 

 Whole plant fairly densely short-pubescent: Ivs. gla- 

 brescent, bright green, open-cordate at the base, 

 rotundate or very broadly ovate, coarsely crenate, the 

 crenatures denticulate; the petioles longer than the 

 blades: scape thick, exceeding the Ivs., bearing 2-3 

 superposed umbels which are slightly separated from 

 each other: bracts, those below the lowest umbel, lf.- 

 like, large, ovate-lanceolate: fls. reddish; calyx pubes- 



cent, at the same time clothed with melliferous glands 

 intermixed, cup-shaped, with the lobes frequently 

 denticulate; corolla-limb about %in. across, distinctly 

 annulate at the throat, with oboyate, 2-lobed lobes: 

 caps, small, globose, not exceeding the calyx-tube. 

 China. Intro. 1908. R.H.S. 39:149. 



67. blattariformis, Franch. WTiole plant covered 

 with short papilliform hairs: Ivs. ovate or obovate, from 

 a rotund or shortly attenuate base, coarsely crenate, the 

 crenatures denticulate; the petioles shorter than the 

 blades: scape erect, much exceeding the Ivs., bearing a 

 raceme 8-12 in. long; the pedicels short: bracts equal- 

 ing the calyx: fls. lilac; calyx broad-campanulate, with 

 acute dentate lobes; corolla-tube puberulent outside, 

 the limb J^-Kin. across, broadly obcordate, acute: 

 caps, subglobose, small, included in the calyx. China. 



"A first glance at the plant suggests Verbascum." 

 Balfour. 



BB. Shape of calyx more or less tubular, little if any 

 enlarging after flowering (perhaps exception in 

 A'o. 80). 

 c. Stamens affixed in base of corolla-tube. 



68. heucherifSlia, Franch. (P. Gagnepainii, Petitm.)- 

 Lvs. petiolate, deeply and narrowly cordate, rotundate, 

 7-9-lobed to a depth of scarcely one-fourth the diam., 

 sparsely pilose, the lobes ovate-deltoid, unequally 

 dentate; the petiole villous with red hairs: scape much 

 exceeding the Ivs., when mature short-pulverulent as 

 well as short-pilose, bearing 3-4 fls. : bracts short, linear- 

 lanceolate, pulverulent: fls. purplish; calyx narrowly 



3180. Primula Stella ta of florists, a form of P. sinensis, prized 

 for its small well-formed slender-stalked flowers that stand well 

 above the foliage. ( X H) 



campanula te-tubular, with lanceolate acute lobes; 

 corolla-tube cylindrical, the limb concave, about Jiin. 

 across, with shortlv bilobed lobes. Thibet and China. 

 G.C. III. 50:102. 



cc. Stamens affixed in the tube or at the throat of corolla. 



D. Lvs. paper-like, suborbicular, glaucous beneath. 

 69. chartacea, Franch. Lvs. long-pet iolate, charta- 

 ceous, glabrous, ovate-suborbicular, base slightly cor- 

 date, obscurely crenate-dentate, glaucous above, pin- 



