2800 



PRIMULA 



112. unifldra, Klatt. Devoid of farina, small: Ivs. 

 small, membranaceous, sparsely white-villous, broad- 

 ovate or orbicular-ovate, acute, base truncate or acute, 

 incise-dentate or crenate; the petiole slender, equaling 

 or exceeding the blade: scape slender, long, exceeding 

 the Ivs., 1-2-fld.: bracts minute, oblong: fls. large in re- 

 lation to the plant, sessile, nodding, pale violet; calyx 

 campanulate, membranaceous, deeply 5-lobed, the lobes 

 quadrate, truncate, apiculate, frequently undulate-cren- 

 ulate; corolla funnelform, the limb almost 1J4 m - 

 across with broad, coarsely dentate lobes: caps, globose. 

 Sikkim-Himalaya. R.H.S. 39:186. 



113. pusflla, Wall. Plant minute, cespitose, small- 

 Ivd., small-fld., and the habit of an androsace: Ivs. less 

 than Y<$n.. long, spreading-recurved, spatulate or 

 oblanceolate, obtuse, pinnatifid, somewhat strigose- 

 pilose above, more or less puberulous below, the mid- 

 rib stout, toward the base narrowed to a petiole which 

 can scarcely be distinguished from the blade: scape 

 slender, about 2 in. high, bearing 1-4 fls. in a head: 

 bracts ovate-lanceolate: fls. purple or violet; calyx 

 farinose, campanulate, with triangular acute lobes; 

 orolla-tube densely villous at the throat, the limb 

 almost f^in. across, with spreading, obcordate, emar- 

 ginate lobes; ovary depressed-globose. Himalaya. 

 B.M. 7079. R.H.S. 39:208. 



cc. Blossoms small for the genus: plant minute. 



114. sapphirina, Hook. f. Very small and densely 

 cespitose, small-lvd. and small-fld., glabrous or nearly 

 so: Ivs. J^-J^in. long, cuneo-spatulate or obovate, nar- 

 rowed into petiole, pinnatifid: scape slender, 1-2 in. 

 high, 1-4-fld.: bracts minute, lanceolate: fls. very short- 

 pedicelled, nodding, capitate or essentially so, violet; 

 calyx cup-like with triangular lobes; corolla funnel- 

 form, with short tube, scarcely surpassing the calyx, 

 the limb about ^in. diam., lobes ovate and emarginate. 

 Sikkim, 12,000 to 15,000 ft. altitude. B.M. 6961. 



XIII. CAPITATE. 



Much like the Soldanelloideae, but bracts subulate or 

 lanceolate: fls. sessile or pedicelled: W. Himalaya to 

 China. 



A. Fls. erect; calyx tubular-campanulate. 



115. erdsa, Wall. (P. capitdta var. crispa, Hort. P. 

 denticulata var. erbsa, Duby). Glabrous or puberulous, 

 5-7 in. high: Ivs. appearing with the fls., not farinose, 

 somewhat pellucid, slender reticulate-veined, obovate- 

 spatulate or oblanceolate, obtuse, gradually narrowed 

 to the petiole which can scarcely be distinguished from 

 the blade, sharply erose-denticulate: scape slender, 

 8-10 in. high, much exceeding the Ivs., bearing a 

 many-fld. umbel: bracts small, triangular, farinose: 

 fls. purple or violet; calyx open tubular-campanulate, 

 the tube short, with lanceolate acute lobes; corolla- 

 limb about J^in. across, with obcordate emarginate 

 lobes: caps, included in the calyx. Temp. Himalaya. 

 B.M.6916A. Gt.2,p. 130. Gn. 62, p. 131. G.L. 16:95. 

 R.H.S. 39: 187. Said to require a moist place or a bog 

 in the rock-garden. Hooker says that the Ivs. are 

 sometimes 18 in. long. 



116. denticulata, Smith. Scapes 4-18 in. tall, bearing 

 a dense umbel or head of pale purple fls. : Ivs. in a rosette 

 on the crown, usually not full grown until the fls. are 

 past, and surrounded beneath by short, broad, thick, 

 If .-like bracts; If .-blades oblong-obovate or spatulate, 

 usually narrowed into a winged stalk, sharply denticu- 

 late, more or less mealy: corolla-tube about twice as 

 long as the calyx-teeth, the corolla-lobes obcordate 

 Himalaya region, 7,000-13,000 ft., and said by Hooker 

 to be "the commonest Himalayan primula, and very 

 variable." The fls. are said to be eaten in salad and the 

 powder of the roots to be used in killing leeches 

 Intro. 1842. B.M. 3959. B.R. 28:47. Gn. 11, p 127- 

 29. p. 382; 35, p. 529; 41, p. 588; 62, p. 218; 79, p. 16l! 



G.M. 54:344. G.C. III. 47:152. J.H.III. 62:261; 67: 

 529. R.H.S. 39:160. A hardy plant, usually treated 

 as a rockwork subject. Blooms in earliest spring. 

 Var. purpftrea, Hort., has dark purple fls. Var. alba, 

 Hort., has white fls. Gn. 50, p. 372; 78, p. 165. G.L. 

 23:422. Gn.W. 22, suppl. May 13 (as var. alba grandi- 

 flora). Var. pulcherrima, Hort., is very robust, with 

 deep purple fls. in dense heads. Var. variegata, Hort., 

 has Ivs. bordered white. Var. Fire Ball has bright pur- 

 ple fls. in large heads. 



Var. cachemiriana, Hook. f. (P. cachemiriana, 

 Munro. P. cashmeridna, Hort.). Lvs. nearly or quite 

 full grown when the fls. are in bloom, usually more 

 mealy (yellow-mealy beneath and sometimes on top) : 

 fls. rich purple with yellow center: perhaps a hybrid. 

 W. Himalayan region. R.H. 1880:330. J.H.III. 

 60:199. Gn. 79, p. 97. P. sibirica var. kashmiriana. 

 (B.M. 6493) is a different plant. See No. 132. 



117. pseudodenticulata, Pax. Glabrous: Ivs. char- 

 taceous, appearing with the fls., linear-oblong, obtuse 

 or acute, scarcely noticeably denticulate, almost entire, 

 not farinose, gradually narrowed to the winged petiole: 

 scape stiff, exceeding the Ivs., 1^-4 in. high, sparsely 

 farinose below the top, bearing a head of many fls.: 

 bracts lanceolate, acuminate from a broad base: fls. 

 lilac, the outer ones of the head opening long before 

 the inner ones; calyx tubular-campanulate, white- 

 farinose, with narrowly triangular, obtuse pilose lobes 

 which do not turn black ; corolla-limb annulate at the 

 throat, about Hin. across, with broad-obcordate, 

 deeply emarginate lobes. S. W. China. Intro. 1908. 

 G.C. III. 53:264. Another recent species of this 

 group is P. nessensis, Forr., with bright pink fls., "of 

 considerable merit" for both indoors and outdoors; 

 scape slender and much overtopping the oblong- 

 rugose or bullate Ivs. R.H.S. 39:160. It is said that 

 this is the name for the plant that has been distributed 

 as P. farinosa var. Beesii, and also for some of the P. 

 pseudodenticulata. 



118. glabra, Klatt. Lvs. not farinose, membrana- 

 ceous, small for the size of the plant (about J^in. long), 

 ovate-spatulate, obtuse, erose-dentate, attenuate into 

 a narrow petiole-like base: scape slender, 2-3 in. high, 

 bearing a close* head-like umbel: bracts small, acute: 

 fls. purple- violet, very short-pedicelled; calyx tubular- 

 campanulate, incised or cut scarcely one-third the 

 length, the lobes obovate and very obtuse; corolla- 

 tube scarcely exceeding the calyx, the lobes narrowly 

 obcordate and bifid. Sikkim-Himalaya, 12,000-15,000 

 ft. and more altitude. R.H.S. 39:192. Apparently 

 cult, only very recently. 



AA. Fls., or the outer ones, reflexed, nodding or pointing 

 downward; calyx mostly globose-campanulate. 

 (Some of the plants of this group have been 

 associated by Balfour as a section Muscarioides, 

 with a muscari-like flower habit. "The character- 

 istic feature of the group is the aggregation of 

 small fls., which have tubular corollas with a short 

 erect limb, in a close spike or capitulum, in which 

 they are all inserted with the mouths of the 

 corollas downwards.") 



B. Calyx-teeth acute. 



119. capitata, Hook. Lvs. appearing with the fls., 

 oblong-lanceolate, obtuse or acute, finely denticulate, 

 more or less intensely white-farinose below, narrowed 

 to the petiole, which is shorter than the blade and fre- 

 quently scarcely distinct from it: scape 8-16 in. high, 

 stout, slightly thickened toward the top, bearing a 

 dense, rarely a little lax, many-fld. head: bracts lanceo- 

 late, acute: fls., the outer ones, opening long before the 

 inner, reflexed or nodding, the inner forming a dense 

 crown, bright purplish blue; calyx open-campanulate, 

 scurfy, split to the middle, with the lobes triangular 

 acute, rather concave, about %in. across with obcor- 



