Primula incana
Primula egaliksensis
hoary primrose, mealy primrose, silvery primrose
Greenland primrose, primevère du fjord egalik
not aromatic, indistinctly petiolate;
petiole broadly winged;
blade without deep reticulate veins abaxially, elliptic to oblanceolate, 1–6 × 0.3–1.6 cm, thin, margins remotely denticulate, apex acute to obtuse, surfaces glabrous.
not aromatic, abruptly petiolate;
petiole not winged;
blade without deep reticulate veins abaxially, elliptic, 1.5–5.5 × 0.5–0.9 cm, thin, margins entire, undulate, or slightly denticulate, apex rounded, surfaces glabrous.
4–19-flowered;
involucral bracts saccate, ± equal.
1–3(–6)-flowered;
involucral bracts gibbous but not auriculate, ± equal.
erect, thin, 3–9 mm, length ± 1 times bracts, stiff.
nodding, thin, 2–9 mm, length 1–3 times bracts, flexuous.
homostylous;
calyx green, broadly cylindric, 4–10 mm;
corolla lavender, tube 4–10 mm, length 1 times calyx, eglandular, limb 4–8 mm diam., lobes 2–4 mm, apex emarginate.
homostylous;
calyx green or with purple stripes, cylindric, 4–6 mm;
corolla white or lavender, tube 6–8 mm, length 1–1.2 times calyx, eglandular, limb 6–8 mm diam., lobes 3–4 mm, apex slightly emarginate.
cylindric to ellipsoid, length 1.5–2 times calyx.
narrowly cylindric, length 1.5–2 times calyx.
without flanged edges, reticulate.
without flanged edges, reticulate.
= 54, 72.
= 36, ca. 40.
Primula incana
Primula egaliksensis
Primula incana is usually heavily farinose, at least when young, and has relatively tall scapes and tight umbels of homostylous flowers. As with some species of the genus, anthesis often begins before the scape is fully elongated; plants at first are quite small, but elongate throughout anthesis and typically become relatively tall and lanky in age. This has led to confusion with other arctic species, especially P. stricta, which has considerably less farina, a shorter scape, and a more maritime distribution. In fruiting stage, P. incana has been confused with P. laurentiana, which has looser umbels throughout anthesis, larger flowers, and a more eastern distribution. Primula incana generally replaces P. laurentiana to the west and south of Hudson Bay. The single octoploid count for P. incana is questionable; the species appears to be consistently hexaploid in other counts.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Primula egaliksensis is distinguished by its relatively few-flowered inflorescence of homostylous flowers; violet (forma violacea Fernald) and white corollas are equally common and sometimes occur together within populations. Early treatments of the arctic flora confused P. egaliksensis with other species, notably P. stricta. The names P. farinosa var. groenlandica Pax and P. sibirica in the sense of Hooker (not Jacquin) refer in part to P. egaliksensis.
Morphologic and genetic evidence (A. Guggisberg et al. 2006) indicates that Primula egaliksensis is a hybrid between sects. Aleuritia and Armerina, with probable parents being P. nutans and P. mistassinica or an ancestral form of that species. The rounded, petiolate leaves and narrow capsules ally it strongly to sect. Armerina, and it has traditionally been placed in that section. Primula egaliksensis has frequently been confused with P. nutans; it differs in its smaller, homostylous flowers and the absence of auriculate bracts.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
BC
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
