Primula kingii G. Watt

Habit

Herb

Family Description

Herbs, usually rhizomatous, perennial or annual. Leaves simple, sometimes all radical or sometimes cauline, alternate or opposite, exstipulate. Flowers bisexual, regular, mostly 5-merous, sometimes 4-7-merous, small or medium-sized, sometimes axillary, solitary or in heads, umbels or in whorls sometimes aggregated into racemes or spikes, inflorescences often on peduncles (scapes); flowers monomorphic or dimorphic (pin- and thrum-flowers) with styles and stamens set at different levels. Calyx teeth connate or at least coherent at base. Corolla rotate with cylindrical basal tube and 5-7 patently spreading lobes or funnel-shaped with corolla tube and lobes more or less in line. Stamens as many as corolla lobes, adnate and opposite to them. Ovary superior, ovoid, globose or narrowly cylindric, unilocular, style short or elongate, stigma often capitate. Capsule 5-7-valved or upper part dehiscing as a cap or bursting irregularly. Seeds few to numerous, borne on a free central placenta, compressed and winged or peltate and convex beneath.

Genus Description

Rhizomatous perennial herbs. Leaves all radical, often obovate, spathulate, rarely orbicular and petiolate, sometimes surrounded at base by oblong or rounded bud scales, sometimes dusted with yellow or whitish farina. Flowers on peduncles, solitary or few, or in heads, umbels or whorls, these sometimes superposed in candelabra, monomorphic or dimorphic (pin-and thrum-flowers) with styles and stamens set at different levels in the corollas. Calyx tubular or funnel-shaped, teeth 5, sometimes farinose. Corolla usually rotate with cylindrical basal tube and 5 patently spreading lobes (with area around mouth of tube or 'eye' differently coloured), sometimes funnel-shaped, campanulate or saucerglobose or ovoid, 5-valved, sometimes dehiscing irregularly. Seeds ± peltate, flattened dorsally, convex ventrally.

Species description

Perennial efarinose herb with small winter resting-buds; bud scales oblong, 1-2cm. Leaves firm and fleshy, elliptic-oblanceolate, 4-11 x 1-2cm including petiole, acute, base attenuate, margin horny, remotely denticulate, gland-pitted beneath. Peduncle 7-18cm (-29cm in fruit); umbel of 3-7(-12) flowers, ± pendant; bracts 3-10mm linear; pedicels 5-15mm puberulous. Calyx narrowly campanulate, 6-8mm, divided to middle into triangular teeth. Corolla dark claret to almost black, campanulate, 15-18mm long, lower tubular part as long as calyx, limb 13-17mm diameter, lobes oblong or elliptic, c 5mm, entire or emarginate. Capsule ovoid, 1-1.5 x length of calyx.