Flora of North America species comparison

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Primula veris

cowslip primrose
Habit Plants 8–30 cm, herbaceous; rhizomes thick, short; rosettes sometimes clumped, vegetative parts efarinose but often pubescent.
Leaves

not aromatic, indistinctly or abruptly petiolate;

petiole winged;

blade with deep reticulate veins abaxially, ovate to ovate-oblong, 5–20 × 2–6 cm, thin, membranaceous in age, margins coarsely toothed, apex acute to obtuse, surfaces pubescent, hairs simple.
Inflorescences

5–16-flowered;

involucral bracts plane, unequal.
Pedicels

erect to drooping, moderately thick, 3–20 mm, length 1–3 times bracts, flexuous.
Flowers

heterostylous;

calyx pale green, broadly campanulate, 0.8–2 cm;

corolla yellow, with orange spots at base of lobes, tube 8–20 mm, length to 1 times calyx, eglandular, limb 8–28 mm diam., lobes 8–14 mm, apex slightly emarginate to distinctly notched.
Capsules

ovoid, length to 1 times calyx.
Seeds

without flanged edges, minutely vesiculate.
2n

= 22 (Europe).

Primula veris
Phenology Flowering spring.
Habitat Meadows and pastures, persisting around old gardens and homesteads, apparently substantially spreading and naturalized
Elevation 0-1000 m (0-3300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CT; MA; ME; MI; NY; BC; NB; NF; NS; ON; QC; Europe [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Primula veris shows exceptional morphological variation in Europe, with multiple specific and infraspecific names. It is a popular garden plant both here and in Europe; horticultural varieties abound and are almost certainly represented among the records from North America.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 301.
Parent taxa Primulaceae > Primula
Sibling taxa
P. alcalina, P. angustifolia, P. anvilensis, P. borealis, P. capillaris, P. cuneifolia, P. cusickiana, P. egaliksensis, P. incana, P. laurentiana, P. mistassinica, P. nutans, P. parryi, P. pumila, P. rusbyi, P. specuicola, P. stricta, P. suffrutescens, P. tschuktschorum
Synonyms P. officinalis
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 142. 1753 ,
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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