General: Fibrous-rooted, scapose, perennial herbs.
Stems: Scapes conspicuously whitish- or yellowish-mealy throughout (especially when young), 6-45 cm tall.
Leaves: Leaves not succulent, elliptic to oblanceolate, apices acute to obtuse, bases tapering gradually to a broadly winged petiole, finely denticulate towards the apex, often slightly revolute, glabrous, often whitish- or yellowish-mealy (especially on basal portion), 1-6 cm.
Flowers: Inflorescences of 4-19 flowers; involucral bracts flat to sac-shaped at the base, lanceolate, densely whitish- or yellowish-mealy, 5-10 mm. Flowers homostylous; corollas lavender with a yellow throat, lobes slightly to moderately cleft, lobes shallowly to moderately cleft, 4-8 mm wide; calyces glandular, densely whitish-or yellowish-mealy, lobes shorter than the tube, 4-10 mm; pedicels erect, densely whitish- or yellowish-mealy, 3-9 mm. Flowering May-Jul.
Fruits: Capsules cylindrical to ellipsoid, 1.5-2 times calyx length; seeds without flanged edges
Source: The Vascular Flora of British Columbia, draft 2014. Author: Jamie Fenneman
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour: White
Blooming Period: Late Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics: Colour: Brown Present over the Summer
1a. Leaves succulent, with 5-11 coarse teeth towards the apex; corollas >10 mm across; capsules globose; seeds with flanged edges …….…………………………………….……………………P. cuneifolia
1b. Leaves not succulent, entire or wavy-margined to finely denticulate; corollas usually <10 mm across (to 14 mm in P. mistassinica); capsules ovate to cylindrical; seeds without flanged edges………................................…………………….2
2a. At least some leaves tapering abruptly to long, slender petioles; plants never whitish-mealy……………….................………3
3a. Involucral bracts lanceolate, sac-shaped but without ear-shaped appendages at the base; flowers homostylous; corollas 6-10 mm wide…………………………………………………………………P. egaliksensis
3b. Involucral bracts oblong to oblong-lanceolate, with ear-shaped appendages at the base; flowers heterostylous; corollas 9-20 mm wide…………………………………………………………[P. nutans]
2b. All leaves tapering gradually to wide petioles; some plants whitish- or yellowish-mealy (especially P. incana)..……….……4
4a. Plants robust, to 45 cm tall, conspicuously whitish- or yellowish-mealy (especially on calyces, involucral bracts, and scape); corolla lavender, 2-4 mm long; calyx lobes shorter than the tube; flowers homostylous......................P. incana
4b. Plants relatively slender, to 20 cm tall, not or only slightly whitish- or yellowish-mealy; corolla lobes pink to violet (rarely white), 4-7 mm long; calyx lobes equalling or exceeding the tube; flowers heterostylous……........P. mistassinica
Source: The Vascular Flora of British Columbia, draft 2014
Author: Jamie Fenneman
Habitat / Range
Moist to wet meadows, streambanks, ledges, and disturbed areas (particularly on fine-textured alkaline soils) in the parkland, boreal, and montane zones. Infrequent in ne BC, rare in se BC; AK east to ON, south to UT, CO.
Source: The Vascular Flora of British Columbia, draft 2014. Author: Jamie Fenneman
Additional Notes
This is the only Primula species in which the mealy coating is dense and extensive, rendering it easily identified under most circumstances. It is also distinctive in its large size, stout scapes, and densely-flowered inflorescences of relatively small flowers.
Source: The Vascular Flora of British Columbia, draft 2014
Author: Jamie Fenneman
Family Information
Primulaceae:
Annual, biennial, or perennial forbs; scapose; from fibrous roots, short rhizome, or branched caudex, occasionally mat-forming or cespitose. Scapes ascending to erect, solitary or several per plant, unbranched. Leaves all basal, often rosulate, simple, unlobed, entire to toothed, subsessile to stalked, glabrous to pubescent, sometime glandular. Inflorescence a terminal, bracteate umbel, or flowers solitary. Flowers radially symmetric, 5-merous, bisexual, stalked; corolla campanulate or tubular to salviform, lobes sometimes sharply reflexed, usually whitish or pinkish to deep magenta, 4- to 5-lobed; calyces 4- to 5-lobed; stamens 5; filaments distinct or partially connate; ovary superior; style 1. Fruits 5-chambered dehiscent capsules, valvate to circumcissile. Genera 20, species ca. 600 (4 genera, 15 spp. in B.C.). Widespread in arctic, temperate, and subtropical regions of the northern hemisphere; disjunct in equatorial regions (e.g., e Africa, Indonesia) and in the southern hemisphere (e.g., s South America).
Non-scapose genera that were formerly included in Primulaceae ( Anagallis, Glaux, Lysimachia, Trientalis) have now been moved to Myrsinaceae (Källersjö et al. 2000, Trift et al. 2002, Cholewa and Kelso 2009). Many species in this family have a pronounced association with calcareous environments and are subsequently rather locally distributed within the province. Primulaceae contains a number of very showy species, and several genera have become important ornamentals in the horticultural trade (e.g., Primula, Dodecatheon).
Key to the Genera of Primulaceae
1a. Corolla lobes >2 times as long as the tube, sharply reflexed; stamens far exserted; filaments often at least partially connate (distinct in some species) .........................................................................Dodecatheon
1b. Corolla lobes less than twice as long as the tube, not reflexed; stamens included; filaments never connate…………………….........................2
2a. Calyces keeled (at least on the tube); plants densely cespitose (cushion-like) or mat-forming perennials with clusters of leaves at the bases of the scapes (rarely taprooted biennials), corollas rose-pink (fading to lavender, rarely to whitish).…...............................................Douglasia
2b. Calyces not keeled or only weakly keeled in fruit; plants taprooted annuals or perennials from fibrous roots or short rhizomes, or if mat-forming perennials (i.e., Androsace chamaejasme), then corollas white or pink-tinged with a yellow or pink throat..……………………….……………………………………………………………………………………...................................3
3a. Corollas constricted at the throat, magenta to lavender (rarely white), usually >7 mm across; plants never densely grey-hairy… ………………………………………………………...…………………………………………………..................................................Primula
3b. Corollas not constricted at the throat, white (sometimes fading pinkish in A. chamaejasme), usually <5 mm across (if >5 mm, then plants densely grey-hairy)…….……….......................................................……Androsace
Source: The Vascular Flora of British Columbia, draft 2014. Author: Jamie Fenneman
Genus Information
Fibrous-rooted, scapose, perennial herbs. Scapes ascending to erect, unbranched. Leaves all basal, in a single rosette, petioles absent or obscure. Inflorescence a terminal, usually bracteate umbel of 2-25 flowers (flowers sometimes solitary). Flowers pink to violet (rarely white), usually with yellow centre; corollas salverform, constricted at the throat, 5-lobed, the lobes shallowly to deeply cleft; calyces campanulate to cylindrical, usually unkeeled (sometimes weakly keeled in fruit), 5-lobed; stamens included; homostylous or distylous. Capsules globose to cylindrical, 5-valvate. About 500 spp. (4 spp. in B.C.); widespread throughout Eurasia, Africa, and the Americas, especially in arctic, alpine, and boreal environments.
Primula is a large genus that is most diverse in the Old World, with relatively few representatives in the Americas. Flowers of some species of Primula exhibit heterostyly (Kelso 2009c), in which two different morphs occur within the species that have different relative style lengths and other associated floral characters, and the existence of heterostyly within a species can sometime be an important taxonomic character. In heterostylous species, the thrum morph has a short style, stamens located high in the corolla tube, and larger pollen grains, while the pin morph has a long style, stamens located high in the corolla tube, and smaller pollen grains; these morphs are only able to pollinate or receive pollination from the opposite morph, and are incapable of either self-pollination or pollination by the same morph. Species in this genus are often very similar, and misidentifications of specimens (especially herbarium material) are common, particularly for arctic-alpine species. Vegetative plasticity in response to the time of year or local environmental conditions further complicates identification, with individuals or populations often variable in size, flower number, and degree of waxy or mealy coating on the scapes and leaves. Several Primula species (P. nutans Georgi [SIBERIAN PRIMROSE]; P. stricta Hornem. [ERECT PRIMROSE]) have been attributed to B.C. in the past based on such misidentified material; see Excluded Species for additional information. This is an important genus in horticulture and many species are grown commercially; horticultural species may occasionally escape cultivation in southwest BC (e.g., P. veris L. [ENGLISH COWSLIP]), but none have become established.
Source: The Vascular Flora of British Columbia, draft 2014. Author: Jamie Fenneman
