THE PRIMULAS. 



27 



Silver-edged Primrose [marginatd) it develops 

 a thick stem of several inches, often branched 

 like a little shrub. Its leaves are large, toothed, 

 covered with glandulous hairs and with fringed 

 edges; its flowers, borne as large bunches dur- 

 ing Apriland May, are of bluish-lilac. It thrives 

 in peaty soil, between sandstone rocks, in half- 

 shade. Syn. P. graveolens and latifolia. 



Wulfen's Primrose (P. Wulfeniand). — A 

 plant found upon the limestone of eastern Aus- 

 tria, from 3,000 to 5,000 feet. It is a P. Clu- 

 siana in miniature, with narrow leaves, slightly 

 glaucous, and with a white margin ; its rosy 

 flowers are large, solitary (or as many as three) 

 borne upon a short stem during March and 

 April. It needs a well-drained crevice in half- 

 shade (facing east or west) with a mixture of 

 peat and sand. 



The foregoing are essentially rock-loving 

 plants, thriving in niches of the rock or in old 

 walls; they can be grown also in pots of light 

 soil, if thoroughly drained. 



Section II. Water-loving Primulas. 

 — These kinds, of which the Bird's-eye Prim- 

 rose stands as a type, are found in marshy 

 tracts upon mountains and beside streams ; 

 many of them are natives of the Himalayan re- 

 gion and the far East. 



Asiatic Bird's-eye (P. algidd). — Found 

 in western Asia, from Caucasus to the Altai 

 Mountains. Though akin to the European 

 Bird's-eye (P \farinosd) it is distinct in its larger 

 leaves, obtuse-spathulate, bordered with fine 

 teeth, and its large flowers of deep violet. May 

 and June. 



Ear-leaved Primrose (P. auriculatd) . — A 

 plant of the mountains of Caucasus and Persia, 

 closely related to the last but differing in its 

 longer flower-tube and its larger clusters. 



Bird's-eye Primrose {P .farinosa). — Found 

 in damp spots of the mountainous and sub- 

 alpine regions of Europe (Britain), central Asia, 

 and Northern and arctic America. Its leaves 

 are oval-obtuse, crimpled,and powdered with 

 white beneath ; the flowers appear from April 

 to June as terminal headsof light or deep pink. 

 There is a form with white flowers ; a second, 

 known as Ware's Primrose, of dark violet with 

 a deeply coloured eye ; a third (P.mistassinica) 

 from N. America, intermediate between this 

 species and the Arctic Bird's-eye (P. strictd) ; 

 and a fourth variety, the Magellan Primrose, 



from Patagonia, a robust plant, 6 inches or 

 more high, with leaves almost spiny and flowers 

 of a pale rose tending to white. 



Southern Bird's-eye Primrose {P.fron- 

 dosd). — A plant of the Balkans, related to the 

 common Bird's-eye Primrose but with leaves 

 of a different shape and densely powdered in 

 all its parts. It was added to our collection 

 by Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria, and sent out 

 from our gardens at Geneva. May and June. 



Giant Yellow Cowslip {P . grandis). — A 

 species of the western Caucasus, from 6,000 to 

 1 0,000 feet, with large leaves and a stout stem 

 over a foot high, with small tubular flowers 

 in drooping clusters. It has never flowered 

 with us at Geneva but does so with little trouble 

 in England. It thrives upon the moist banks 

 of mountain torrents, reaching a large size, but 

 is not showy in gardens. 



Creamy-flowered Primrose (P. involu- 

 cratd). — A native of the Himalayan slopes be- 

 tween 12,000 and 15,000 feet, where it forms 

 tufts of bright green, its leaves narrowing sud- 

 denly upon the stalk; drooping flowers of 

 I creamy-white or sometimes of a bluish shade. 

 From May to July. 



The Japanese Primula (P. japonica). — 

 Introduced from Japan in 1 87 1 , this fine plant 

 is now much grown in gardens. Its bold leaves 

 are of a pale green, and its flowers, carried in 

 tiers upon a stem of 1 to 2 feet, from June to 

 September, are of bright rose in the wild form, 

 but of many colours in its garden varieties. 



Trumpet-flowered Primrose (P. longi- 

 Jiord). — Found upon the Alps, Carpathians, 

 and heights of eastern Europe, between 4,500 

 and 6,000 feet. Its oval-oblong leaves, en- 

 larged towards their base, are slightly toothed 

 and powdered beneath ; the rosy flowers car- 

 ried upon a thick stem during spring, are re- 

 markable for their length of tube. 



Yellowish Primrose (P. luteola) . — A plant 

 I of the eastern Caucasus, related to Ps. algida 

 and auriculata but larger in growth and in its 

 more numerous yellow flowers, borne upon 

 long stalks in May and June. 



Turkestan Primrose (P. O/ga). — Akin 

 to P. longijiora ; found in the mountains of 

 Turkestan at from 7,000 to 1 2,000 feet. It dif- 

 fers in its leaves, smooth and shining on both 

 , sides, and in the longer bracts of the invo- 

 lucre. April and May. 



