Primula parryi
Primula anvilensis
Parry primrose, Parry's primrose
boreal primrose
rankly aromatic, indistinctly petiolate;
petiole broadly winged;
blade without deep reticulate veins abaxially, broadly lanceolate or oblanceolate to oblong-obovate, 1–33(–40) × 1.5–7 cm, thick, margins almost entire or remotely denticulate, apex rounded to acute, surfaces glabrous.
not aromatic, indistinctly petiolate;
petiole narrowly winged;
blade without deep reticulate veins abaxially, narrowly cuneate or spatulate, 0.5–2 × 0.2–0.4 cm, thin, margins denticulate or with slightly rounded, widely spaced teeth, apex obtuse, surfaces glabrous.
5–25-flowered;
involucral bracts plane, unequal.
1–7-flowered;
involucral bracts plane, ± equal.
arcuate, somewhat thick, 10–50 mm, length 1–6 times bracts, flexuous.
arching at anthesis, capillary, 5–10 mm, length 2+ times bracts, flexuous.
heterostylous;
calyx green, often purple tinged, cylindric to campanulate, 8–15 mm;
corolla magenta, tube 5–20 mm, length 0.9–1 times calyx, with prominent glands basally and distally, limb 10–25 mm diam., lobes 5–12 mm, apex emarginate.
heterostylous;
calyx green or with purple stripes, campanulate, 2–4 mm;
corolla white, tube 2–4 mm, length 1 times calyx, eglandular, limb 5–8 mm diam., lobes 2.5–4 mm, apex emarginate.
ellipsoid to cylindric, length 1 times calyx.
narrowly cylindric, length 1.5–2 times calyx.
without flanged edges, reticulate.
without flanged edges, reticulate.
= 44.
= 18.
Primula parryi
Primula anvilensis
Primula parryi has the largest and most showy plants of the native North American primroses, growing to almost 50 centimeters in protected sites. It is common on subalpine streamsides and also occurs on the alpine tundra in wet areas near snowmelt seeps. The strong skunky odor of this species is unique in the North American primroses, often lingering even on herbarium specimens. It is the most common species of the genus in the western United States.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Primula anvilensis is known only from the Bering Strait region of Alaska: on the Seward Peninsula, in the Noatak River drainage to the north, and to the south in upland and mountainous zones near the Bering Sea. It sometimes grows with P. borealis along the Alaskan coast; it is readily distinguished by its white flowers, plane involucral bracts, and more delicate aspect.
The name Primula parvifolia sensu Fernald (not Duby) applies to this species. M. L. Fernald (1928d) based his description of P. parvifolia on material collected in the Nome area. Those plants are clearly P. anvilensis. Later, W. W. Smith and H. R. Fletcher (1943) and E. Hultén (1968) correctly included P. parvifolia as a synonym of P. borealis; they did not realize that a second, undescribed species existed along the Bering Strait.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
CalFlora
PNW Herbaria
SW CO Wildflowers
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
