Primula farinosa

For the North American species known as "bird's-eye primrose", see Primula mistassinica.

Primula farinosa
A pink-violet cluster of at least seven Primula farinosa flowers on a round stalk rising from a rosette of leaves amid mosses and a few blades of grass.
Between Gebidum Pass and Blausee in Valais, Switzerland
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Primulaceae
Genus: Primula
Species:
P. farinosa
Binomial name
Primula farinosa
Synonyms[2]
List
    • Aleuritia farinosa
    • Androsace farinosa
    • Cankrienia farinosa
    • Primula altaica
    • Primula davurica
    • Primula exaltata
    • Primula gigantea
    • Primula lepida
    • Primula undulata
    • Primula warei

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

Description

Bird's-eye primrose is a herbaceous plant with a flowering stem that may reach 20 centimeters (8 in). However, like all primulas its leaves are all basal, attached directly to the base of the plant. Their leaves can measure 1 to 10 centimeters (0.4 to 3.9 in) long by 3 to 20 millimeters wide. Their shape ranges from oblanceolate to elliptical with a wide angled end and smooth or finely toothed edges. Plants can be farinose, covered in powder, or lack it, but are usually at least farinose on the underside of the leaves.[3] The mealy powder ranges in color from white to sulfur.[4]

The inflorescence it atop a scape, a leafless stem, that will measure 3 to 20 cm tall with two to twenty flowers. The flowers are between 8 and 16 mm in diameter and are usually lilac-pink, but can occasionally be white or purple.[3]

Taxonomy

Primula farinosa was given its scientific name by Linnaeus in 1753. It is classified as part of the genus Primula in the family Primulaceae.[2] It is a diploid species that is most closely related to Primula scotica.[5] It has no recognized subspecies or varieties, but it has 29 synonyms.[2]

Table of Synonyms
Name Year Rank Notes
Aleuritia farinosa (L.) Opiz 1839 species ≡ hom.
Aleuritia farinosa subsp. alpigena (O.Schwarz) Soják 1979 subspecies = het.
Androsace farinosa (L.) Spreng. 1815 species ≡ hom.
Cankrienia farinosa (L.) Zoll. 1854 species ≡ hom.
Primula altaica Lehm. 1817 species = het.
Primula davurica Lehm. 1817 species = het., nom. illeg.
Primula exaltata Lehm. 1817 species = het.
Primula farinosa f. alba (H.Hara) T.Yamaz. 2003 form = het.
Primula farinosa subvar. albiflora Druce 1917 subvariety = het.
Primula farinosa subsp. alpigena O.Schwarz 1968 subspecies = het.
Primula farinosa var. americana Torr. 1824 variety = het.
Primula farinosa var. chrysophylla Trautv. & C.A.Mey. 1856 variety = het.
Primula farinosa var. commutata Behm 1887 variety = het.
Primula farinosa f. exscapa Wahlenb. 1824 form = het.
Primula farinosa var. genuina Pax 1888 variety ≡ hom., not validly publ.
Primula farinosa var. koreana T.Yamaz. 2003 variety = het.
Primula farinosa var. leucophylla Trautv. & C.A.Mey. 1856 variety = het.
Primula farinosa var. nana E.S.Arnold & A.J.Richards 2002 variety = het.
Primula farinosa f. nivea (H.Hara) T.Yamaz. 2003 form = het.
Primula farinosa var. pygmaea Gaudin 1828 variety = het.
Primula farinosa var. stricta Wahlenb. 1824 variety = het.
Primula farinosa subsp. xanthophylla (Trautv. & C.A.Mey.) Kitag. 1939 subspecies = het.
Primula farinosa var. xanthophylla Trautv. & C.A.Mey. 1856 variety = het.
Primula gigantea Lehm. 1817 species = het., nom. illeg.
Primula lepida Duby 1844 species = het.
Primula modesta f. alba H.Hara 1948 form = het.
Primula modesta f. nivea H.Hara 1948 form = het.
Primula undulata Fisch. ex Rchb. 1827 species = het.
Primula warei Stein 1882 species = het.
Notes: ≡ homotypic synonym ; = heterotypic synonym

Range and habitat

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

Primula farinosa is widespread in Europe and Asia according to Plants of the World Online. In Europe it is native as far west as Spain, France, and Great Britain. It grows in central and southern Europe including Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia, and Poland. In northern Europe it is found in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and the Baltic States.[2] It is listed as locally extinct in Czechia by the IUCN. In the southeast it is part of the flora of Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Ukraine.[1] In European Russia it grows in the northwest, north, and east. [2] On the Novaya Zemlya archipelago it reaches 72° N.[6]

In Asia it is native as far south as the central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, and Tadzhikistan. It grows in all Asian Russia from western Siberia to the Magadan Oblast and the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. It also grows on the Russian controlled Kuril Islands. To the south it is found in Mongolia and two parts of China, Manchuria and Inner Mongolia.[2]

The species favors alkaline soils and is found in marshes, peatlands, and damp meadows.[3][4] It tends to be found in mountainous areas.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Khela, S. (2012). "Primula farinosa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012: e.T203398A2764887. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Primula farinosa L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  3. ^ a b c d Valentine, D.H.; Kress, A. (1972). "Primula". In Tutin, T.G.; Heywood, V.H.; Burges, N.A.; Moore, D.M.; Valentine, D.H.; Walters, S.M.; Webb, D.A. (eds.). Flora Europaea. Vol. 3 Diapensiaceae to Myoporaceae. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. pp. 15, 17. ISBN 978-0-521-22493-2. OCLC 1301968828. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  4. ^ a b Clapham, A. R. (1981). Excursion Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 345. ISBN 978-0-521-23290-6. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  5. ^ Guggisberg, Alessia; Mansion, Guilhem; Conti, Elena (1 February 2009). "Disentangling Reticulate Evolution in an Arctic–Alpine Polyploid Complex". Systematic Biology. 58 (1): 55–73. doi:10.1093/sysbio/syp010. hdl:20.500.11850/106156. ISSN 1063-5157. JSTOR 25677483. PMID 20525568. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  6. ^ Feilden, H.W. (1899). "Appendix C - Flowering Plants of Novaya Zemlya, Etc.". In Pearson, Henry John (ed.). Beyond Petsora Eastward : Two Summer Voyages to Novaya Zemlya and the Islands of Barents Sea. London: R.H. Porter. p. 221. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139151658.014. OCLC 820943428. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
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