Bird's Eye Primrose

In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Foodplant / parasite
embedded sorus of Urocystis primulicola parasitises live ovary of Primula farinosa

Herbs perennial. Leaves numerous, forming a dense rosette; petiole to nearly as long as leaf blade; leaf blade oblong-obovate to oblong-lanceolate, 1--7 X 0.3--4 cm, farinose or efarinose, base attenuate, margin remotely denticulate to nearly entire, apex subrounded to obtuse. Scapes 3--15(--30) cm, usually farinose toward apex; umbels usually many flowered; bracts narrowly lanceolate to acuminate-subulate, 3--8 mm, base dilated, gibbous. Pedicels unequal, 3--15 mm, elongating to 2.5 cm in fruit. Flowers heterostylous. Calyx campanulate, 4--6 mm, usually farinose inside, parted to 1/3--1/2, 5-ribbed; lobes ovate-oblong to triangular, short ciliate. Corolla lilac to purple; tube ca. as long as to slightly longer than calyx; limb 0.8--1 cm wide; lobes cuneate-obovate, deeply emarginate. Pin flowers: stamens at middle of corolla tube; style ca. 3 mm. Thrum flowers: stamens in upper 1/2 of corolla tube; style ca. 1.2 mm. Capsule cylindric, slightly longer than calyx. 2n = 18, 36, 72.

Heilongjiang, Jilin, Nei Mongol [Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia; Europe]

Wet meadows, marshes, valley thickets; ca. 1200 m.

Early 20th century illustration of bird's-eye primrose by botanist Carl Axel Magnus Lindman.

Primula farinosa, the bird's-eye primrose, is a small perennial plant in the family Primulaceae, native to Northern Europe and northern Asia, and (rarely) farther south at high altitudes in the mountains of southern Europe. This primrose thrives on grazed meadows rich in lime and moisture.