Primula veris |
Primula specuicola |
|
---|---|---|
cowslip primrose |
alcove primrose, cave primrose, cave-dwelling primrose |
|
Habit | Plants 8–30 cm, herbaceous; rhizomes thick, short; rosettes sometimes clumped, vegetative parts efarinose but often pubescent. | Plants 10–25 cm, herbaceous; rhizomes thin, short; rosettes not clumped; vegetative parts heavily white-farinose. |
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. |
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. |
Inflorescences | 5–16-flowered; involucral bracts plane, unequal. |
(6–)10–25-flowered; involucral bracts plane, ± equal. |
Pedicels | erect to drooping, moderately thick, 3–20 mm, length 1–3 times bracts, flexuous. |
erect, thin, 10–30 mm, length 2–5 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. |
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. |
Capsules | ovoid, length to 1 times calyx. |
ellipsoid, length 1–2 times calyx. |
Seeds | without flanged edges, minutely vesiculate. |
without flanged edges, reticulate. |
2n | = 22 (Europe). |
= 18. |
Primula veris |
Primula specuicola |
|
Phenology | Flowering spring. | Flowering summer. |
Habitat | Meadows and pastures, persisting around old gardens and homesteads, apparently substantially spreading and naturalized | Moist seepage areas on carbonate bedrock in canyons |
Elevation | 0-1000 m (0-3300 ft) | 800-2500 m (2600-8200 ft) |
Distribution |
CT; MA; ME; MI; NY; BC; NB; NF; NS; ON; QC; Europe [Introduced in North America]
|
AZ; UT
|
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.) |
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.) |
Source | FNA vol. 8, p. 301. | FNA vol. 8, p. 294. |
Parent taxa | Primulaceae > Primula | Primulaceae > Primula |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | P. officinalis | P. hunnewellii |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 142. 1753 , | Rydberg: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 40: 461. 1913 , |
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