14 History of Primula 



and he informs me that the pollen of P. japonica was used to fertilise 

 the deep red-flowered plant of obconica mentioned above which was 

 thought to show evidence of the influence of P. rosea. In general 

 habit however the plant shows no trace of P. japonica either in leaves 

 or flowers. The flowers are of a dark claret-magenta colour not more 

 intense but not unlike that which has been produced by other growers. 

 The inflorescences tend to become whorled as in P. japonica but this 

 occurs not uncommonly with robust plants of P. obconica towards the 

 end of their flowering season. The results achieved in the short space 

 of about eight years are certainly very remarkable, but except for colour 

 changes in the flowers there appears to be no evidence to support the 

 view that the plants should be considered as hybrids especially as 

 similar series of forms are known to have been produced elsewhere by 

 selective methods alone without any recent attempts at hybridisation. 



Yet another species of Primula, namely P. megasaefolia from the 

 Caucasus, is claimed to have been successfully hybridised with P. ob- 

 conica. Herr Arends of Ronsdorf writes that he started working with 

 P. megasaefolia, then recently introduced, about the year 1902 and 

 produced in course of time the strain to which he gave the name 

 P. obconica gigantea. Professor Pax to whom some of the plants were 

 sent accepted them as hybrids between P. obcoriica and P. megasaefolia 

 and in his account of the genus in the Pflanzenreich^ has given the 

 name P. Arendsii, to this supposed hybrid. 



In habit this gigantea strain undoubtedly shows some differences 

 from the ordinary grandiflora type in its stouter leaves and pedicels, 

 but the flowers both as to calyx and corolla are those of P. obconica and 

 the plants do not appear to show any character which can be definitely 

 attributed to the influence of the pollen of P. megasaefolia. 



Forms of P. obconica closely resembling the gigantea of Arends 

 appear to have been raised in different nurseries and by other means 

 about the same time. P. obconica robusta raised at Lyon, for instance, 

 by M. Choulet, is stated to be the same thing as P. obconica gigantea, but 

 to have been produced entirely as a result of selection, Messrs Rivoire of 

 Lyon write as follows on this subject : 



" Vous avez raison de mettre en doute I'origine supposee de cette 

 Primevere et de vous refuser a croire a une hybridation ; c'est d'ailleurs, 

 la aussi, I'avis de I'obtenteur. Nous ne pouvons que vous confirmer 



1 Das Pftanzenreich, iv. 237, Primulaceae, p. 346. There is also a note in Gartenjlora, 

 1908, 57, p. 632 on P. obconica gigantea rubra, "the first true dark red hybrid of the new 

 gigantea race." 



