Angiosperms (Flowering Plants) • Earth.com

Primula obconica

(Primula obconica)

galery
en

Description

Primula obconica is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae, native to China. It is a short-lived evergreen perennial growing to 40 cm (16 in) tall by 25 cm (10 in) broad, with rosettes of coarse, heart-shaped leaves, and thick stalks bearing umbels of lavender flowers in late winter and early spring. The specific epithet obconica means "inverted cone", referring to the convex flowers. This is a tender plant which us usually grown annually as a houseplant or in a cool greenhouse. Numerous cultivars have been developed, of which 'Libre Magenta' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. The hairs on the leaves may cause allergic reactions. Primula is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. They include the primrose (P. vulgaris), a familiar wildflower of banks and verges. 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 was known at least as early as the mediaeval herbalists, although first formally described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753, and later in 1754 in his Flora Anglica. Linnaeus described seven species of Primula. One of its earliest scientific treatments was that of Charles Darwin study of heterostyly in 1877 (The different forms of flowers on plants of the same species). Since then, heterostyly (and homostyly) have remained important considerations in the taxonomic classification of Primula.

Taxonomic tree:

Domain:
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum:
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order:Ericales
Family:Primulaceae
Genus:Primula
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