Primroses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is a diminutive of the Latin prima (’first’), referring to the early flowering of several species. Many of these plants are indeed very hardy, as seen in two of the pictures above.

The name primrose is from the Latin prima rosa, meaning ‘the first rose’, although primroses are not at all related to roses.

According to some authorities, the name cowslip is a corruption of an Old English word, cuslyppe, meaning ‘cow dung’. This probably refers to the favoured habitat of the common cowslip (P. veris), namely dry slopes, grazed by cattle. Others claim that the word is a corruption of cow’s leek, derived from the Anglo-Saxon word leac, meaning ‘plant’.

It has been said that the name oxlip, which is a corruption of ox and slip, refers to the fact that oxlip, like cowslip, often grows on cattle grazing grounds. This may be a wrong presumption, as true oxlip (P. elatior) – at least in the northern part of its distribution area – mainly grows in forests.

 

 

It grows in open areas at altitudes between 3,500 and 4,900 m, distributed from Uttarakhand eastwards to south-eastern Tibet.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with black teeth’, alluding to the black-tipped calyx-lobes.

P. denticulata (below) is quite similar, but much larger, and it lacks the dark-tipped calyx-lobes.

 

 

 

 

 

Furthermore, P. buryana is found in drier areas along the Tibetan border, from western to eastern Nepal, and also in Tibet, at elevations between 3,300 and 5,000 m, whereas the blue-flowered plant is restricted to central Nepal, mainly growing on rock-ledges at altitudes between 2,900 and 4,600 m, fully exposed to the monsoon rains.

I am convinced that the latter is a distinct species, as also suggested by Polunin and Stainton in their book Flowers of the Himalaya (1984).

The blue-flowered plant has slender, hairy stems, to 18 cm tall, leaves in a basal rosette, ovate to oblong-ovate, densely hairy on both surfaces, and with long white hairs along the margin, blade tapering into a winged stalk, both to 2.5 cm long. Flowers single or up to 3 together, broadly funnel-shaped, to 2 cm across, very short-stalked, pale blue or pale lilac with white around the throat, calyx with shaggy white hairs.

The discovery of P. buryana is related below, see P. wollastonii.

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name honours San Diego-based lawyer, politician, and botanist Daniel Cleveland (1838-1929), who was the first to carry out a systematic study of the plants of the San Diego area. He found many species new to science.

Padre’s shooting star belongs to a group of primroses, which were formerly placed in the genus Dodecatheon, erected by Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), supposedly because the inflorescence of these plants often consists of 12 flowers. The name stems from Ancient Greek dodeka (’twelve’) and theos (’god’), thus ‘twelve gods’. The Ancients applied this name to plants that they thought had acquired their medicinal properties from the twelve most prominent gods and goddesses.

This group, comprising 17 species, is widespread in North America, from north-western Mexico northwards through western United States and Canada to Alaska, with a single species extending into north-eastern Siberia. The flowers are pollinated by bees, which cling to the corolla by beating their wings very fast, thus releasing the pollen.

The popular name shooting star refers to the flowers, in which the yellow stamens and the corolla lobes, which are bent backwards, converge to a common point, likened to a shooting star, in which the lobes constitute the ‘tail’.

Other members of the group include Jeffrey’s shooting star (P. jeffreyi) and Henderson’s shooting star (P. hendersonii), both presented below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed from western Nepal eastwards to Bhutan and south-eastern Tibet, found at elevations between 4,000 and 5,200 m.

The specific name is a shortened form of the Latin concinnatus (‘harmonic’).

 

 

 

 

 

The leaves, which form a rosette, have a winged stalk, usually short, but occasionally to 15 cm long, blade oblong to oblanceolate, to 20 cm long and 4 cm broad, sometimes with white or yellow farina, margin toothed, tip blunt. The leaves become longer in fruit, to 30 cm. Inflorescence stems of very variable length, to 15 cm long, sometimes with farina on the upper half. Umbel globular, compact, many-flowered, bracts numerous, to 1 cm long, stalks very short. Corolla to 2 cm across, pale blue, pinkish-blue, or purplish, rarely white, with a yellow eye, tube bell-shaped, to 2 cm long, lobes obovate, to 8 mm long, deeply bi-lobed. As a rule, the inflorescences become larger and denser with higher altitude.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with small teeth’, alluding to the leaves.

P. glomerata (below) also has globular umbels, but has a much longer inflorescence stalk, and the head is more compact.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

True oxlip is distributed in the major part of Europe, northwards to Denmark and southern Sweden, and in northern Asia, eastwards to the Altai Mountains, southwards to the Caucasus, Turkey, and northern Iran. It grows in forests and damp grasslands, and along streams.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘taller’ (than the common P. veris).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This fine little plant has a very wide distribution, from Scotland and Scandinavia eastwards to Kamchatka, in Asia southwards to Kyrgyzstan and northern China, with isolated populations in the mountains of central and southern Europe.

The specific name is derived from the Latin farina (‘flour’), alluding to the fine grains on the stem and sometimes on the leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It mainly grows on wet banks in forests at altitudes between 2,700 and 4,600 m, from central Nepal eastwards to south-western China.

As its specific name implies, the leaves of this plant resemble those of certain species of crane’s-bill (Geranium).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leaves basal, forming a rosette, stalk winged, to 4 cm long, blade oblong, oblanceolate, or spatulate, to 15 cm long and 3 cm broad including stalk, margin sharply and irregularly toothed, tip rounded. Inflorescence stalk to 30 cm long, farinose or glandular-hairy above, umbel a globular head, to 5 cm in diameter, corolla sky-blue with a dark throat, to 1 cm across, tube funnel-shaped, to 1.5 cm long, lobes spreading, obovate, deeply notched.

It is distributed from western Nepal eastwards to south-eastern Tibet, at altitudes between 3,000 and 5,700 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘having been made into a ball’, ultimately from glomero (‘to gather’).

 

 

 

 

 

It grows in alpine grasslands and areas of snowmelt on acidic soils, at elevations between 2,000 and 3,200 m. It is distributed in the central and eastern Alps, and in the northern part of the Balkan Peninsula.

It forms a confusing variety of hybrids with P. minima (below).

The specific name is from the Latin gluten (‘glue’), alluding to the sticky glands on the leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

It occurs from central Nepal eastwards to Bhutan and south-eastern Tibet, growing at elevations between 2,700 and 4,100 m.

The specific name is derived from the Latin gracilis (‘slender’) and pes (‘foot’). What it refers to is not clear.

 

 

 

 

 

Shooting stars in general are discussed above, see P. clevelandii.

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed from Austria westwards to the French Alps and the Pyrenees, growing on acid soils, mainly along streams and in snow-melt areas, at elevations between 1,100 and 3,100 m.

 

 

 

 

 

It occurs from western Nepal eastwards to Sikkim, growing at altitudes between 2,500 and 3,700 m.

The specific name presumably refers to the ragged-toothed corolla lobes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Nlaka’pamux people used the flowers as amulets and love charms.

It was named in honour of Scottish botanist John Jeffrey (1826-1854), who spent four years exploring and collecting plants in Washington, Oregon, and California, sending his specimens back to Scotland. In 1854, he disappeared while travelling from San Diego across the Colorado Desert, and was never seen again.

An alternative name of this plant is Sierra shooting star, alluding to the Sierra Mountains of California.

Shooting stars in general are discussed above, see P. clevelandii.

 

 

 

 

 

Collectively, these plants are known as bear’s ear, alluding to the shape of the leaves. They are the source of a huge number of primrose cultivars.

Yellow mountain cowslip is easily identified by the bright yellow flowers and the dull-green, broadly obovate, thin leaves, strongly serrated along the margin, and covered in glandular hairs. The leaf blade of P. auricula is usually narrower, almost lanceolate.

 

 

 

 

 

This species is distributed from Kyrgyzstan and Xinjiang southwards across Tibet to northern Pakistan, and thence eastwards to Bhutan, growing at elevations between 3,300 and 5,600 m. It is very common in the Khumbu area, eastern Nepal.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek makros (‘long’) and phyllon (‘leaf’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leaves long-stalked, hairy, blade rounded, to 10 cm long and broad, with 5-7 shallow lobes, strongly toothed, base heart-shaped. Inflorescence stalk to 23 cm long, slender, umbel with 3-12 drooping flowers, calyx bell-shaped, to 5.5 mm long, with 5 triangular lobes, corolla bell-shaped, rosy-purple, to 1.5 cm long and 2.5 cm across, deeply cleft below the middle into 5 oblong lobes with entire margin, sometimes notched.

This subspecies is found from Kazakhstan and Mongolia southwards to northern Pakistan, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. In the Himalaya, it grows at elevations between 3,000 and 4,200 m. The species, in its widest sense, is distributed from northern Siberia southwards to the Himalaya, northern China, Korea, and Japan, and it also occurs in montane areas of central Europe and the Balkans.

The specific name honours Italian physician and naturalist Pietro Andrea Gregorio Mattioli (1501-1577), personal physician of Emperor Maximilian II (1527-1576). He described more than a hundred new plants, and in his work Discorsi, he made famous comments on De Materia Medica, written by Greek physician, pharmacologist, and botanist Pedanius Dioscorides (died 90 A.D.). In 1561, he published a work on medicinal plants, Epistolarum Medicinalium Libri Quinque.

The obsolete generic name Cortusa was applied by Mattioli in honour of Giacomo Antonio Cortusi (1513-1603), who presented the plant to him, found north of Vicenza. From 1590, he was the director of the botanical garden in Padova,

 

 

 

 

 

It is quite common in the eastern half of the Alps, and also in the Tatras, the Carpathians, and the northern Balkans, eastwards to Ukraine, growing in scree and snowmelts, usually on acid soils, at altitudes between 1,200 and 3,000 m.

 

 

 

 

 

The leaves, which form a rosette, are to 20 cm long and 5 cm wide, wrinkled and sharply toothed. The inflorescence stem is to 45 cm tall, with 2-4 superimposed umbels, each with 6-10 purple flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed from Himachal Pradesh eastwards to central Nepal, growing at elevations between 2,100 and 4,100 m. It is common in the Annapurna area, central Nepal.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek nanos (‘dwarf’), alluding to its growth form. The obsolete specific name honours Irish botanist Michael Pakenham Edgeworth (1812-1881), who spent many years in India, where he collected a large number of plants.

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is distributed from central Nepal eastwards to Arunachal Pradesh and south-eastern Tibet, growing at altitudes between 3,000 and 4,400 m. It is quite prominent between Tharepati and Phedi, Langtang National Park, central Nepal.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘slanting’ or ‘awry’. What it refers to is not clear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It occurs from Uttarakhand eastwards to Sikkim, growing at altitudes between 2,100 and 3,800 m.

It closely resembles P. gracilipes (above), but is smaller, with a tight leaf rosette, and it lacks farina.

The specific name is derived from the Latin petiolus (‘little foot’), thus ‘having a small foot’, presumably alluding to leaves and flowers being very short-stalked.

 

 

 

 

 

This species grows in open areas at altitudes between 3,600 and 5,000 m, from Uttarakhand eastwards to Bhutan and south-eastern Tibet.

 

 

 

 

This plant is found at elevations between 3,500 and 5,000 m, from western Nepal eastwards to Sikkim and south-eastern Tibet.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with round leaves’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is fairly common in forests at elevations between 2,100 and 3,700 m, from Kashmir eastwards to western Nepal.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘sitting’, but in botanical context meaning ‘stalkless’, in this case alluding to the flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is partial to wet meadows, found at elevations between 2,900 and 4,800 m, from western Nepal eastwards to northern Myanmar and south-western China.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘found in Sikkim’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It grows in forests and meadows at altitudes between 3,500 and 4,300 m, from western Nepal eastwards to Bhutan and south-eastern Tibet. It is common in Ghunsa Valley, eastern Nepal.

This species hybridizes freely with the purple P. calderiana, sometimes resulting in yellow, white, blue, and purple flowers in a single mixed population.

The specific name is derived from the Latin struma (‘scrofulous tumor’ or ‘swelling’). What it refers to is not clear.

 

 

 

This species is distributed from Himachal Pradesh eastwards to Sikkim, growing at altitudes between 3,500 and 4,600 m.

The specific name honours John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (1713-1792), who was a patron of botany.

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed from Uttarakhand eastwards across southern Tibet and northern Himalaya to Bhutan, growing at elevations between 3,000 and 5,000 m.

 

 

 

 

 

In Norse mythology, the flower was dedicated to Freya, called the Key Virgin, a goddess associated with love, beauty, and fertility. When the heathens converted to Christianity, the plant was instead dedicated to Virgin Mary, hence the name Our Lady’s keys.

Common cowslip has been utilized medicinally for hundreds of years. This usage is described on the page Plants: Plants in folklore and poetry.

In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare (1564-1616), a mischievous puck, or spirit, Robin Goodfellow, meets a fairy, asking her what she is doing. She says:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is native to Europe, from Norway southwards to North Africa, and from Ireland and Portugal eastwards to European Russia, the Caucasus, and northern Iran. The number and names of subspecies vary greatly, according to various sources.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name was given in honour of English physician, naturalist, and explorer Alexander Frederick Richmond Wollaston (1875-1930), who participated in a number of expeditions, to the Ruwenzori Mountains of Uganda 1905, to New Guinea 1910-11 and 1912-13, and to Mt. Everest 1921.

During the latter expedition, he collected two primroses in the area around Nyenyam (today called Nyalam) and the Rongshar Valley, southern Tibet, P. buryana, named for another member of the expedition, British soldier, explorer, and botanist Charles Kenneth Howard-Bury (1881-1963), and P. wollastonii.

In Howard-Bury’s book Mount Everest: The reconnaissance, 1921, Wollaston writes of the discovery of the two primroses: “Crossing a pass to the east of Nyenyam, we camped on a level spot covered densely with white primulas [later named P. buryana] six to eight inches high. An inch or two of snow fell during the night, and so white are these flowers that it was difficult to see them against the snow. Near the top of another pass we found at about the same altitude, 15,000 feet, another primula [later named P. wollastonii] with three to six bells on each stem, the size of a small thimble, of a deep blue color, and lined inside with frosted silver.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The inflorescences of these plants differ from those of Primula by having the flowers arranged in several umbels up the stem. They occur from Turkey eastwards to the Himalaya, southwards through Arabia to Ethiopia and Somalia. A single species is found in the Himalaya.

The generic name may be derived from Ancient Greek ev (‘splendid’) and trokhos (‘wheel’), in which case it probably refers to the beautiful ‘wheels’, formed by the inflorescences.

 

It grows on humid rocks, from Afghanistan eastwards to western Nepal, at elevations between 600 and 2,600 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with an abundance of flowers’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anemone obtusiloba and Geum elatum are described on the page Plants: Himalayan flora 3, whereas animism is dealt with in detail on the page Religion: Animism.