PRIMULA 



PRIMULA 



1433 



625, 671. F.R. 4:29. -The Chinese Primrose is now ex- 

 ceedingly variable. There are double-tid. forms of vari- 

 ous shapes and colors and of various degrees of dou- 

 bling. For pictures of various double and half-double 

 forms, see R.H. 1867:250, 330. F.S. 20:2145. I.H. 

 31:512; 35:42; 38:126. The normal form of this Prim- 

 rose has a somewhat flat-topped flower-cluster, but 

 there are forms with pyramidal and elongated clusters. 

 Var. stellata (P. stellata, Hort.) is a form with hand- 

 some star-like long-stemmed fls. in successive whorls or 

 tiers in a long open cluster: recent. Gn. 53, p. 229; 

 57, p. 52. A.G. 18:201; 20:384-5. A.F. 12:605. Gng. 

 5:167. Pretty. Primula Sinensis was introduced into 

 England from Chinese gardens in 1820, but it was not 

 until 1879 that the original wild form was known to bota- 

 nists. For accounts and pictures of this wild Primrose 

 as grown in English gardens, see essay by Sutton in 

 Journ. Royal Hort. Soc. 13:99 (1891). G.C. III. 5:115; 

 8:564; 9:209; 11:13 (figure reproduced in A.G. 13:245). 

 Gn. 49:1058. B.M. 7559. The native color of the Chi- 

 nese Primrose seems to be on the order of pink, but 

 there are many colors in the cult, forms, from pure 

 white to red. There are now crested or fringed forms 

 (var. fimbriata, Hort.), and those with a frill or extra 

 corolla projecting from the throat (Fig. 1952). Gt. 

 43:1402; 45:1432; 46, p. 192. The Ivs. are variable in 

 shape and depth of lobing. Some forms have crisped 

 leaves (var. filicifdlia, Hort.). The improvement of P. 

 Sinensis has taken place without the influence of hy- 

 bridization with other species. 



BB. Lvs. scalloped or sinuate, not lobed. 



8. obcdnica, Hance (P. poculifdrmis , Hook.). Fig. 

 1953. Slender, with loose-hairy leaves (the sharp hairs 

 often irritating-poisonous): Ivs. all radical, ovate-ob- 

 long or round-oblong, long-petioled, scallop-toothed and 

 very finely serrate : scapes many, 

 4-10 in. tall: fls. small, lilac or 

 light purple, several to many in 

 umbels, on long -spread ing or 

 somewhat drooping pedicels, the 

 segments obcordate; calyx wide 

 open and shallow-toothed. China. 

 B.M. 6582. Gn. 26:456 and p. 

 206; 29, p. 241; 51, p. 317. G.C. 

 III. 9:401 (house). Gt. 43, p. 138. 

 F.R. 1:941. Of late years this 

 species has become a popular win- 

 ter-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. 

 51:1116. R.H. 1892, p. 114. Gt. 46, 

 p. 193. S.H.2,p. 52. A.F. 13:1063, 

 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. P. obconica is 

 very easily grown. Prop, by seed. 



AA. Calyx narrow and ordinary. 

 9. cortusoides, Linn. Fig. 1954. 

 Lvs. in a rosette on the ground, 

 rather large and soft, loose hairy 

 (at least on the midrib and pe- 

 tioles), ovate-oblong or cordate- 

 oblong, irregularly many -notched : 

 scapes few to several, 6-12 in. tall, 

 very straight, hairy : fls. rose- 

 colored, about 1 in. across, pedi- 

 celled, in a loose, many-fld. um- 

 bel, the segments obovate and 

 deeply notched or even lobed. 

 Siberia. B.M. 399. R. H. 1859, p. 



1955. Primula Forbesi. 319. Gn. 29, p. 382. A handsome 

 (X%.) hardy species, blooming in May 



in the northern states. 

 10. Sieboldi, Morr. (P. cortusoides, var. amoena, 



Lindl., var. grandiflbra, Lem., and var. Sieboldi, Hort. 



P. amoena, Hort.). Looks like a large and robust form 



Of P. cortusoides, with fls. 1% to nearly 2 in, across, 



the throat usually striped and the limb in various colors, 

 from pure white to deep purple-rose. Japan: perhaps a 

 cultivated state of the above. B.M. 5528. I.H. 16:599. 

 Gn. 29, p. 382; 35, p. 335; 36:721. Gng. 8:241-2. R.H. 

 1892:300. The fls. are two to three times larger than 

 those of P. cortusoides. In some forms the fls. are 

 fringed. Blooms in late spring. Hardy North. 



5. MONOCARPIC^:. 



11. F6rbesi, Franch. BABY PRIMROSE. Figs. 1955, 1956. 

 Annual: slender and delicate species, with something 

 of the habit of P. obconica: loosely hairy, at least on 

 the Ivs. and lower part of the scape: Ivs. small, 1-2 in. 



1956. Primula Forbesi, the Baby Primrose, at the beginninE 

 of its blooming season. 



long, oval-oblong to cordate-oblong, shallowly sinuate- 

 toothed, minutely serrulate : scapes very slender, 6-14 

 in. high, often bent above the whorls: fls. small (about 

 Yz in. across), light lilac, slender -pedicelled, appearing 

 in successive umbels or whorls, the segments obcordate, 

 calyx sharp-toothed, small, somewhat loose. China. 

 B.M. 7246. R.H. 1892, p. 259. G.C. III. 14:685. A.F. 

 14:757. Gng. 7:149. F.E. 11:72. Although first de- 

 scribed so recently as 1886, and first exhibited in London 

 in 1891, this plant is now one of the most popular of con- 

 servatory plants in America. It is a most profuse bloomer, 

 beginning to flower when not more than 2 or 3 in. high 

 and continuing until the scapes reach a height of 10-12 

 inches. It is particularly well adapted to growing in pans. 

 It is easily grown from seeds, and blooms well all win- 

 ter. Unless given plenty of light and room, the scapes 

 become weak and crooked. 



6. BARBATE. 



12. vincifldra, Franch. Perennial, with a short rhi- 

 zome: Ivs. thin, oblong or oval, densely overlapping 

 and forming a narrow erect crown, all erect or nearly 

 so, the upper ones larger, all entire but ciliate, covered 

 with reddish glands: scape short: fl. solitary, purple- 

 violet or blue, 1% in, across, the tube cylindrical or 



