Padre's shooting star

Description

Primula clevelandii, with the common name of Padre's shooting star, is a species of primrose. Its specific epithet clevelandii honors 19th-century San Diego-based plant collector and lawyer Daniel Cleveland. plant is native to California and Baja California. It is generally found in open grassland areas.he plant is native to California and Baja California. It is generally found in open grassland areas. Primula clevelandii is spring deciduous, dying back to the ground after the rains cease. It has basal clumps of leaves up to 40 centimeters long. The flowers are magenta to deep lavender to white. They are nodding flowers each about an inch long on stems up to a foot tall. This species hybridizes with Primula hendersonii, from which it can be distinguished by its green stem. Primula is a genus of mainly herbaceous flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. They include the familiar wildflower of banks and verges, the primrose (P. vulgaris). Other common species are P. auricula (auricula), P. veris (cowslip), and P. elatior (oxlip). These species and many others are valued for their ornamental flowers. They have been extensively cultivated and hybridised (in the case of the primrose, for many hundreds of years). Primula are native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere, south into tropical mountains in Ethiopia, Indonesia, and New Guinea, and in temperate southern South America. Almost half of the known species are from the Himalayas. Primula has over 500 species in traditional treatments, and more if certain related genera are included within its circumscription. Primula is a complex and varied genus, with a range of habitats from alpine slopes to boggy meadows. Plants bloom mostly during the spring, with flowers often appearing in spherical umbels on stout stems arising from basal rosettes of leaves; their flowers can be purple, yellow, red, pink, blue, or white. Some species show a white mealy bloom (farina) on various parts of the plant. Many species are adapted to alpine climates. Primula is the largest genus in the family Primulaceae, within which it is placed in the subfamily Primuloideae, being the nominative genus. The genus Dodecatheon originated from within Primula, so some authorities include the 14 species of Dodecatheon in Primula.