538 



THE PRIMROSE FAMILY. 



Leaves rather large, wrinkled, light green. Lobes of the 



corolla slightly notched . . . . ■ 1. Common P. 



Peduncles apparently radical, and one-flowered .... Var. a. Primrose. 

 Peduncles bearing an umbel of several flowers. 



Limb of the corolla small and concave Var. b. Cowslip. 



Limb of the corolla broad and flat Var. c. Oxlip. 



Leaves small, not wrinkled, covered underneath as well as 

 the calyx with a white meal. Corolla small, the lobes 

 deeply notched 2. Mealy P. 



1. Common Primrose. Primula veris, Linn. 



Stock perennial and tnfted. Leaves ovate or oblong, usually about 

 3 inches long, of a pale green, slightly toothed and much wrinkled. 

 Calyx tubular, half an inch or rather more in length. Corolla usually 

 yellow or straw-colonred ; the tube nearly as long or longer than the 

 calyx ; the limb deeply 5-lobed, each lobe shortly notched. Stamens 

 included in the tube. 



In meadows, open woods, and hedge-banks, in Europe and Russian 

 Asia. Fl. spring. It occurs commonly in three different forms, ori- 

 ginally united by Linnaeus under one botanical species, but since his 

 days considered by most botanists as so many distinct and constant 

 species, although more recent investigation has shown that Linnseus's 

 views were correct. The Polyanthuses of our gardens are cultivated 



varieties of the same species. The three 

 indigenous races are : — 



a. The Primrose (P. vulgaris, Eng. 

 Bot. t. 4), Fig. 642. More or less hairy. 

 Peduncles apparently all radical, as long 

 as the leaves, each bearing a single large 

 flower, with a broad flat limb. Calyx- 

 teeth narrow and pointed. If closely 

 examined the peduncles will, however, 

 be seen really to spring from an umbel, 

 of which the common stalk is so short 

 as to be concealed by the base of the 

 leaves. — On hedgebanks and in rather 

 open woods ; particularly abundant in 

 Britain, and extends over central Eu- 

 rope and some mountainous districts of 

 southern Europe, wanting in north- 

 eastern Europe, and not recorded from 

 Fig. 642. the Altai or from Siberia. 



