Primula specuicola
Primula anvilensis
alcove primrose, cave primrose, cave-dwelling primrose
boreal primrose
not aromatic, indistinctly petiolate;
petiole broadly winged;
blade without deep reticulate veins abaxially, spatulate, 8–15 × 2 cm, thin, margins irregularly and sharply dentate to sinuate-dentate, apex obtuse 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.
(6–)10–25-flowered;
involucral bracts plane, ± equal.
1–7-flowered;
involucral bracts plane, ± equal.
erect, thin, 10–30 mm, length 2–5 times bracts, flexuous.
arching at anthesis, capillary, 5–10 mm, length 2+ times bracts, flexuous.
heterostylous;
calyx green, campanulate, 3–5 mm;
corolla lavender, tube 8–10 mm, length 2 times calyx, eglandular, limb 10–16 mm diam., lobes 5–8 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, length 1–2 times calyx.
narrowly cylindric, length 1.5–2 times calyx.
without flanged edges, reticulate.
without flanged edges, reticulate.
= 18.
= 18.
Primula specuicola
Primula anvilensis
Primula specuicola has relatively large corollas, relatively long pedicels, and irregularly and sharply dentate to sinuate-dentate leaves with conspicuous farina. It is a characteristic member of hanging-garden communities along the canyon walls of the Colorado River and its tributaries. Plants with a more exserted capsule were given the name P. hunnewellii; this appears to be only a minor variant that does not warrant infraspecific recognition.
(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.)
SW CO Wildflowers
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
