1434 PRIMULA 



longobconic, hairy, the segments well separated and 

 broadly obcordate; calyx small, not inflated. China. 

 G.C. III. 1:574. -A most odd species, with vinca-Iike fls. 

 7. Vernales. 

 This is a group of spring-flowering plants to which 

 the polyanthus and the true cowslip belong. They are 

 much varied and hybridized, and the botany of them is 

 therefore much confused. What Linnffius called P. vet-is 

 (meaning the vernal or spring Primula) is now dismem- 

 bered into P. officinalis, P. elatior and P. vulgaris. 



Fls. 



ng and projertintf above the i 

 an umbel, 

 til, the limb of the corolla concave or cvp- 

 like. 



Cowsi.Tr. Fig. 1957. Stemless, 

 It: li-^- f.vril or oblong, abruptly 

 . .T ih. ii,i-;p,the petiole winged, 



iK. in a close umbel, all 

 pin- t.i .ii,. side: fls. bright light 

 the longth of the half-acute lobes 

 expanding little be- 



13. officinillis. 

 minutely soft-im 

 contracted or.sul.."i.i:ii. ■<< tI,. i, 

 the limb uneven! \ ^ . i : i .: , , r 

 6-12 in. tall, bf;u i : i 

 the fls. pointing cii^li....|.iii- t.. ..i 

 yellow, the tube aliont the longtli 

 of the loose large calyx, the lir 



yond the bulge of the calyx (about y^-ii m. across). 

 Central and northern Europe, and long in cultivation. 



BB. Fls. larger, opening icide and nearly flat. 



14. eUtioT, Jacq. Oxlip. Very like the last, but the 

 expanded fls. twice broader, and the calyx narrow (not 

 inflated) and with acuminate lobes: usually somewhat 

 taller: Ivs. very rugose. Europe, particularly in moun- 

 tains and in the northern parts. 



AA. Scape usitally short or almost none, the umbels 

 therefore borne in the foliage and the fls. standing 

 singly on the long rays {exceptions in yo. 16). 



15. vulgaris, Huds. (P. acaAlis, Jacq.). PRraiEOSE. 

 Leaves many, tufted, sessile or tapering to a narrow 

 base, long oblong-obovate and obtuse (6-9 in. long), ru- 

 gose, irregularly shallow-toothed and denticulate: fls. 1 

 in. or more across, pale yellow, the limb flat, usually 

 not equaling the leaves, borne on long, slender pedicels; 

 calyx not inflated, the lobes acute or acuminate. There 

 are double-fld. forms. B.M. 229. Gn. 29, p. 385. R.H. 

 1880:90.— Var. caiQ^scens, an occasional state, has some 

 of the scapes more or less prolonged. Europe, widely 



distributed. For pictures of various forms of P. vul- 

 garis, see Gn. 54:1184 and pp. 142, 143; 7, pp. 319, 345; 

 11, p. 127; 12:101. A.F. 13:1102. Gng. 6:245. R.H. 

 189«:12. 



Ifi. Polydntha. Hort. Polyanthus. Figs. 1950,1958. 

 1959. A garden group supposed to be hybrids of P. offici- 

 nalis or P. ,'hitinr :i,,.i P riihjaris, although many bota- 

 nists refer ii '■/' '•' Iir.-ct. Some consider it to be 



adirectdix. - /■ 'ii.jaris. Whatever its origin, 



the group i- : _:ir.ien purposes, and it is the 



commonesi 1,1111.11 h.n.lv I'rimula known in American 

 gardens. Tlie tis. arr several to many in an erect umbel 

 terminating a scape that usually stands well above the 

 long Ivs. ; the colors are mostly yellow and red-and-yellow. 

 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, usually by 

 division. P. variabilis, as used in horticultural litera- 

 ture, usually refers to this Polyanthus group or to plants 

 of similar origin. 



8. CAPITAT.E. 



17. denticulata, Smith. Scapes 4-18 in. tall, beariiisr 

 a dense uTiil.el or bead of pale purple fls.: Ivs. in a 

 rosette on iIm . im.vh. u-ikiMv not full grown until the 

 flowers ari |., ,■, uruunded beneath by short, 

 broad, tbi.k! , ,; leaf-blades oblong-obovate 

 or spatuli.i' ii..«i.(l into a winded stalk, 

 sharply i). n' ■'> ]> ~- m- :i'. .-'i.'!.-! tul.e 

 about twi.'i' ,1 . I ■ . , ■. . •' •> . ..;.",, ■..!,,., 

 obcordate. ! i ■ 1 . . ■ . . 1 ■ ■.■•■,, ;,■'■■■' : •■ 1 , .i-mi -:ii.I 



by Hooker I.. ' . :..•.: !i • ■ ,. • I , ,. :,|;,, 



p"l27r2!'.'l' - ^ — ' -' ' ' : '-'■. 



earliest s|,n; • \ .: ;,!irii'ire:,. I' -I , ,■,,■, |.i,.'|,ic. 



fls. Var. aDia, II. .n , !■:,. -,' I,-. -!-, (,.,. ,-.", i. ,:;j. \ :ir. 

 pulch6rrima, il.iri.. is v,-r_v n.liust, with deep purple fls. 



Vr'.r. Cachemiri4na, Hook. f. (P. Cachemirifina , 

 Munro. /'. Cashmerii\na, 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. Western 

 Himalayan region. R.H. 1880:330. P. Sibirica, var. 

 Kashmiriana (B.M. 6493) is a diiTerent plant. See 

 No. 24. 



18. capit&ta. Hook. Much like P. denticulata, but 

 lvs. appearing with the fls. anil the fleshy leaf-braets 

 few or ncni. . ,1, , .,1 din^' !.> 11-. i),. r. it "has finely den- 

 ticulate lei. . .1.1 ' with meal beneath. 



depressed 



abri 



tube and calyx both short." Eastern Himalaya. B.M. 

 45.50, 6916 B. F.S. 6:618. Gn. 16:210; 29, p. 382; 

 45, p. 503; 50, p. 373; 54, p. 467. J.H. III. 32:209. 



19. erdsa, Wall. (P. capitata, var. crlspa, Hort. P. 

 denticulAta, var. erdsa, Duby). Differs from P. dentic- 

 ulata, according to Hooker, "in its much slenderer 

 habit, in always (except on young parts) wanting tne 

 meal on the leaves, which are developed at flowering 

 time, are translucent with strongly erose and denticu- 

 late margins, and have a strongly reticulated surface, 

 and the petioles are often red ; the umbels are loose or 

 dense-flowered, and the flowers in our garden speci- 

 mens are of a far deeper purple than is usual in P. den- 

 ticulata." Hooker savs that the lvs. are sometimes 18 

 in. long. Temperate Himalaya. B.M. 6916A. — This name 

 does not appear in the Amer trade, but the species is 

 very likely to pass as P. denticulata or P. capitata. 



9. AURTCrLATiE. 



20. auricul&ta. Lam. (P. longifblia. Curt.). Scapes 

 4-10 in. tall, from a rosette of oblong-obovate siimoth 

 irregularly denticulate lvs. : fls. in a rounded head or 

 umbel, purplish, with a whitish eye, the tube 1 in. or 

 more long and much exceeding the calyx, the involu- 

 cral scales more or less auriculate. Mts. of Greece to 

 Persia. B.M. 392. 



