PRIMULA 



PRIMULA 



2791* 



elatior direct, and some consider it to be a direct develop- 

 ment of P. acaulis, with elongated scapes. Whatever 

 its origin, the group is distinct for garden purposes, and 

 it is the commonest form of hardy primula known in 

 American gardens. The fls. are several to many in an 

 erect umbel that usually stands well above the long Ivs. ; 

 the colors are mostly yellow and red-and-yellow, run- 

 ning into orange, bronze, and maroon, and sometimes 

 pure white. Gn.M. 2:59. There is a form with one 

 corolla inside the other, known as duplex or hose-in- 

 hose. The polyanthus is perfectly hardy, blooming in 

 earliest spring" Prop, easily by seeds sown as soon as 

 fully ripe; also by division. P. variabUis, as used in 

 horticultural literature, usually refers to this Poly- 

 anthus group or to plants of similar origin. 



cc. Li's, ichite-tomentose beneath. 



104. Jftliae, Kusn. Lvs. thin, glabrous, reniform- 

 orbiculate or ovate-orbiculate, base cordate, coarsely 

 crenate, abruptly passing into the somewhat winged 

 petiole which is 2-3 times as long as the blade: scape 

 none: pedicels numerous, 2-3 times longer than the Ivs.: 

 fls. rose or red; calyx glabrous, narrowly tubular, 

 angled, with narrow-lanceolate very acuminate lobes; 

 corolla-limb flat, %-l in. across, with narrow deeply 

 obcordate lobes. Transcaucasus. Intro. 1910. B.M. 

 8468. G.C. III. 51:293. R.H. 1914, p. 251. Gn. 78, 

 p. 194. G. 35:327. Said to be a free grower, liking 

 moisture, and producing its red fls. in profusion. 



XII. SOLDAXXLLOEDE.E. 



Lvs. more or less hairy or pubescent: fls. sessile or 

 very nearly so: involucral bracts short and broad: 

 Himalaya, China. 



A. Infl. spicate. 



105. spicata, Franch. Lvs. membranaceous, short- 

 pubescent on both surfaces, petiolate, with the petiole 

 1^-3 in. long, ovate or oblong-ovate, obtuse, short- 

 attenuate at base, double-serrate; the petiole narrowly 

 winged and shorter or longer than the blade: scape 

 slender. 2-3 times longer than the Ivs., glabrous, short- 

 puberulent toward the top: infl. elongated, 1-sided, 

 spicate: bracts lanceolate: fls. sessile, horizontal or 

 somewhat pendulous, violet; calyx campanulate, 

 sparsely white-farinaceous, triangular, acute; corolla- 

 tube sh'ort, abruptly dilated into a broad flattened cup- 

 shaped limb, ovate, emarginate, the apex erose-den- 

 tate: caps, globose, about equaling the calyx. China. 

 Intro. 1908. R.H.S. 39:157. 



AA. Infl. capitate or umbellate (fls. sometimes solitary). 

 B. Fls. several or many. 



106. Wattii, King (P. GiUii, Hort.). Lvs. covered 

 with flexuous white hairs especially on the nerves and 

 margin, glabrescent, membranaceous, oblong-lanceo- 

 late, gradually narrowed to the petiole which equals the 

 blade, coarsely crenate-dentate, the teeth entire or 

 crenulate: scape 4}/-6 in. high, many-fld., glabrous: 

 bracts membranaceous: fls. sessile, nodding, violet; 

 calyx open cup-shaped, membranaceous, with lobes 

 which are quadrate or semi-orbicular in outline and 

 dentate; corolla glabrous, the limb broad-funnelform, 

 broad-obcordate, emarginate as well as crenulate. Sik- 

 kim-Himalaya. B.M. 8456. G.C. HI. 51:286. Gn. 

 76, p. 191. R.H.S. 39:192. 



107. fl6rida, Balf. f. & Smith. Lvs. long-stalked, the 

 blade ovate, covered beneath with white meal (farina) : 

 scape very much overtopping the Ivs., which spread 

 on the ground: fls. in umbel, short-stalked, with mealy 

 calices, the corolla purple-blue, and rapidly fading to 

 paler tint. Yunnan, China. G.C. III. 57:207. A 

 humus-loving species. 



108. dryadifolia, Franch. Glabrous: Ivs. small, ovate 

 crenulate, contracted to a petiole about J^in. long or 

 subcordate, white-farinose below or devoid of farina: 



scape 2-3 times longer than the Ivs., puberulent, 

 bearing 3-5 fls. which are clustered: bracts broad-ovate, 

 sometimes tridentate, green or becoming purple, 

 sparsely farinose: fls. subsessile, violet; calyx broadly 

 campanulate, split scarcely to the middle with ovate, 

 obtuse, entire or minutely crenulate lobes; corolla-limb 

 flat, J^-^iin. across, with noticeable 4-lobulate lobes: 

 caps, ovate-oblong, about equaling the calyx. China. 

 Intro. 1911. 



109. pinnatifida, Franch. Lvs. clothed with soft, 

 white hairs especially so on the nerves and margin, 

 petiolate, 1% in. or less long, ovate or oblong, base 

 cuneate, entire, or else incise-lobed, the lobes quadrate 

 or ovate, the lower and upper smaller, entire, the inter- 

 mediate variously lobed; the petioles narrowly winged, 



3188. Polyanthus. Primula Polyantha. (XH) No. 103. 



equaling the blades : scape 2-3 times longer than the Ivs., 

 glabrous, somewhat farina te toward the top: bracts 

 lanceolate, acuminate, frequently colored: fls. capitate, 

 reflexed, violet; calyx becoming violet, sparsely golden- 

 farinose, campanuiate, with ovate, obtuse lobes fre- 

 quently denticulate or erose at the apex; corolla-tube 

 cylindrical, the limb cup-shaped, less than %in. across, 

 with ovate, entire or scarcely emarginate lobes. China. 

 Intro. 1908. R.H.S. 39:156. 



110. cernua, Franch. Closely allied to P. pinnatifida, 

 whose fls. have similar capitate infl., differs however 

 in having the Ivs. broadly ovate, short, indistinctly 

 petiolate, margins scarcely conspicuously crenulate: 

 bracts of the involucre ovate not lanceolate: calyx- 

 lobes ovate, mucronate not rounded or crenulate at 

 the apex: fls. blue. China. 



BB. Fls. few or only 1. 

 c. Blossoms large for the plant. 



111. Reidii, Duthie. Lvs. membranaceous, upper 

 surface convex, puckered, laxly silky-villous, oblanceo- 

 late, obtuse, coarsely lobulateHdentate or -crenate, nar- 

 rowed to a winged petiole which is shorter than the 

 blade: scape stiff, up to 4 in. high, several-fld.: bracts 

 broad: fls. subsessile, nodding, ivory-white; calyx cam- 

 panulate, white-farinose inside, with broad, rotundate, 

 obtuse, glandular-ciliate lobes; corolla-lobes broad- 

 oblong, closed in a globe almost %in. diam., the apex 

 2-cleft with a tooth between. Himalaya. B.M. 6961. 

 G.C.II. 26:693; III. 49:195. Gn. 77, p. 231. G.M. 

 58:288. R.H.S. 39:185. 



