Craib— Primulas of Petiolaris-Soxc hifolia Section. 263 



apex. In this toothing of the calyx lobes P. taliensis resembles 

 very much P. odontocalyx. The capsule, judging by the imma- 

 ture fruiting specimens, is included in the calyx tube. 



3. Including P. sonchifolia from Yunnan and Upper Burma, 

 P. taraxacoides from Yunnan, and P. White* from Bhutan. 

 Here we find the same type of development as in the first group, 

 but the plants themselves are much larger and more robust. 

 At flowering time there are many stiff large bud scales persistent. 

 Flowers and leaves develop practically simultaneously. In 

 P. sonchifolia and P. taraxacoides the scape is quite evident at 

 flowering time, but in P. Whitei — at least as far as the flowering 

 material to hand shows— the scape is not visible, being much 

 shorter than the leaves. In fruit, however, the scape elongates 

 rapidly, and is ultimately subequal to or longer than the leaves. 

 The scape is nearly always many-flowered, the bracts at the 

 base of the pedicels being elongate and narrow in P. Whitei, but 

 short and rather broad at the base in the other two species. 

 The calyx lobes are somewhat variable at the apex— in P. 

 Whitei they are longer than the tube, and are somewhat deeply 

 3- to 5-lobed at the apex, with rather narrow finger-like lobes, 

 whereas in the other two species the lobes are shorter than the 

 tube, and are entire or more or less denticulate or sublobulate. 

 The large corollas have their lobes varying from denticulate in 

 P. Whitei to almost fringed, as often occurs in P. sonchifolia. 

 The depressed globose capsule is subequal to the calyx tube. 



4. Agreeing with the last group in that the flower and leaf 

 development are simultaneous, or practically so, are four species 

 which occur in the Himalayas from Xepaul westwards, viz 

 P. nana, P. Edgeworthii, P. Win-ten. and /'. saxieo/a^ the bud 

 scales again are persistent at flowering tune, but they aic iewei 

 in number and are more or less recurved, and not rigidl} eiec t 

 and so giving a more or less cylindrical shape to the base of the 

 plant This character, in conjunction with the leaf dimorphism, 

 gives us the distinguishing marks of the group. The leaves 

 which are present at flowering time, and which are still expand- 

 ing are mostly spathulate or obovate, and are narrowed into a 

 broadlv winged, scarcely differentiated petiole. After flowering 

 these leaves disappear, and their place is taken by long petioled 

 leaves, more or less ovate in shape, and truncate or cordate at 

 the base which are developed from a lateral bud or from lateral 

 buds In the centre of each lateral bud is developed the large, 

 usually farinose, winter bud. The scape is not appreciable, or 

 may attain a slight elongation. The calyx is green, and again 

 we have variation in the amount of toothing of the lobes. For 

 the most part the lobes are entire, but solitary teeth or almost 

 lobules on one or both sides are not infrequent. The corolla 



