194 History o/" Primula malacoides, Franchet 



According to Franchet's original description the colour of the wild 

 flowers is rose and the limb of the corolla is said to be 10 — 12 mm. in 

 diameter. 



Prof. Balfour in his note in 1908 says : " To some its tint of pink or 

 lavender-pink, in contrast with the grey mealy surface of the flower 

 stems, will be hardly pronounced enough for effect, but time and culti- 

 vation will alter that, and it may be predicted that this Primula is likely 



to become a general favourite " This prophecy was quickly fulfilled. 



It may be remembered that in the case of Primula ohconica^ no striking 

 variations occurred 'until the plant had been in cultivation for some 

 fifteen years, and double flowers were only developed in the twenty-first 

 year of its cultivated existence. With P. malacoides however the whole 

 range of variations was initiated in about four years from the date of its 

 introduction to this country. A figure in The Garden^ for 1912 shows 

 the more robust character of the plant as compared with those first 

 cultivated in this country. 



The only coloured illustration of P. malacoides of which we are 

 aware is that published in the Revue Horticole for 1912, p. 156, which 

 depicts a plant very like the type as originally introduced. The plant 

 does not appear to have been cultivated in France until 1911 when it 

 was exhibited by Messrs Vilmorin at a meeting of the French Horti- 

 cultural Society in the spring of that year^ M. Mottet, the author of 

 the article, gives a short historical account of the plant and, what is 

 of considerable value, has drawn up a detailed description from living 

 specimens cultivated in Paris in 1911. 



According to this description the corolla measured 15 — 20 mm. 

 across, the segments were deeply notched and the colour was a soft 

 rose-lilac with a gi-eenish-white centre. The leaves were 6 — 8 cm. long, 

 oval rounded at the apex and cordiform at the base. 



The leaves on our collected specimens are up to 9 cm. long. 



From this account it appears that the effect of cultivation has been 

 to increase the size of the flowers from the maximum of 12 mm. in 

 diameter given by Franchet to 25 mm., which is the dimension of the 

 largest flower yet noticed. 



In England about this time apparently the plant varied in several 

 directions. Messrs Sutton and Sons sent to Kew on April 6, 1912, a 



1 A. W. Hill, " The history of Primula obconica, Hance, under cultivation, &c. " in 

 Journ. Genetics, Vol. ii. 1912, p. 1, with plates. 



-' The Garden, March 30, 1912, pp. 157, 158, with fig. 



'^ Rev. Hort. 1911, p. 218; Journ. Soc. Nat. Hort. Fr. 1911, p. 181. 



