Primula incana
Primula mistassinica
hoary primrose, mealy primrose, silvery primrose
bird's-eye primrose, Lake Mistassini primrose, Mistassini primrose, primevère du lac Mistassini
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, indistinctly petiolate;
petiole narrowly winged;
blade without deep reticulate veins abaxially, spatulate to elliptic, 5–7 × 0.2–1.6 cm, thin, margins denticulate to almost entire, apex obtuse to acute, surfaces glabrous.
4–19-flowered;
involucral bracts saccate, ± equal.
1–5(–10)-flowered;
involucral bracts plane, ± equal.
erect, thin, 3–9 mm, length ± 1 times bracts, stiff.
arcuate, thin, 5–20 mm, length 2–4 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.
heterostylous;
calyx green, campanulate, 3–5 mm;
corolla lavender, tube 5–8 mm, length 1.5–2 times calyx, eglandular, limb 8–14 mm diam., lobes 4–7 mm, apex emarginate.
cylindric to ellipsoid, length 1.5–2 times calyx.
cylindric to ellipsoid, length 1–1.2 times calyx.
without flanged edges, reticulate.
without flanged edges, reticulate.
= 54, 72.
= 18.
Primula incana
Primula mistassinica
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 mistassinica is the most widespread of the North American primroses, and one of the more polymorphic. It can vary in size, leaf morphology, and amount of farina; it is generally consistent in overall habit and floral morphology. Infraspecific taxa previously recognized include var. intercedens, a farinose form common around the Great Lakes, and var. novaeboracensis, a form without a prominent yellow eye in the corolla tube. Isolated individuals showing these characteristics appear throughout the range of the species, and an extensive examination of the complex by H. W. Vogelmann (1956, 1960) led him to conclude that it is best treated as a single, highly variable species; recent molecular analyses (A. Guggisberg et al. 2006) support this assessment. Around the Great Lakes, the presence of farina on the leaves is especially variable, and can range from extensive to nonexistent. Consequently, it seems most appropriate to recognize a single polymorphic taxon with no infraspecific designations, unless molecular analysis suggests otherwise. Although smaller forms of P. mistassinica often have been confused with other species in sect. Aleuritia, it is usually distinguishable by its relatively large heterostylous flowers with lavender corollas.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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