PlMMULACEiT:. 137 



proof tliat these three arc all I'urins of one species, as there is no <^roiin(l 

 tor siipposinfj that precautions were taken to prevent tlie poUen of the 

 prinn-OL-e hein^r conveyed to it hy insects; and Mr. |)ar\vin has sliown 

 that a siin,dc phnit of eitlier the co\vsli[) or ])riinrose is nearly sterile 

 unless it is fertilised hy the pollen from another individual. It is doul)t- 

 lese from this cause that the oxlip, when cultivated in a ^Mrden, as was 

 done hy Mr. Ilewett C. Watson, yields seeds which procUice all forms 

 from the primrose to the cowsli[)-oxlip : indeed, it is [)r<)l)al)ly oidy 

 accidental that the cowslip itself was not raised hy him from the seeds 

 of the oxlip. Interestin<; matter on this suhject will he found in the 

 first series of the I'tylohigist, vol. ii. pp. 217, Ho2, in which Mr. Watson 

 details the results of his experiments. See also Mr. Darwin's paper, 

 in the Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnivan Society, Botany, 

 vol. vi. p. 77. 



Common Oxlip. 



Great discn.ssions have arisen amongst botanists as to whether the primrose and the 

 cowslip be really distinct, and a long-standing confusion seems to have existed with 

 regard to the " O.xlip." This plant is frequent in the cowslip and primrose districts, 

 growing with the former in the open ticlds, though always as a solitary indi\-idual. 

 It is a great favourite in cottage gardens, and in many respect.s resembles both the 

 cowslip and the primrose. There appears to be good evidence that the Oxlip is a 

 mule or hj-brid between the cow.slip and primrose, the result of bees and other insects 

 conveying the pollen from one kind of flower to the pistil of the other ; as gardeners do 

 when the}- hj-bridise plants artificially. Moreover, on the Continent, where the cowslip 

 and primrose are said to be rarely seen together, this " common Oxlip " appears to 

 be unknown. There the primrose is rather a southern plant, extending from Franco 

 to the confines of Asia, while the cowslip is more of a northern one, extending as far 

 as Finland. Both primrose and cowslip occur, it is true, ne.ir together beyond the 

 Alp.s, but the former is always as a plant of warm valleys, the latter as one of moun- 

 tains, and too far apart from one another to hybridise. Their intermixture in England 

 is a lively t3-pe of the twofold nature of our climate, and it is not surprising that they 

 should issue in a form partaking of the characters of both species. The garden flowers 

 belonging to this family of primroses are very numerous and attractive, and include 

 the numberless varieties of Polyanthus, Auriculas, and Cyclamens. The exquisite 

 velvety surface of the leaves of the Auriculas, and the deep royal purple or crimson 

 colour of the flowers, are peculiarly attractive and beantiful. 



"Auriculas enrich'd 

 With shining meal o'er all their velvet leavea." 



Section II.— ALEURITA. Duhy in part. 



Caly.x without angles, rather shorter than the tube of the corolla. 

 Bracts of the involucre saccate at the base. Leaves not evergreen, 

 ne.u'ly smooth, mealy beneath, witli revolute mai'gins when young. 

 Plant in winter reduced to a bulb-like bud. 



VOL. VII. T 



