Angiosperms (Flowering Plants) • Earth.com

Poisson's primrose

(Primula poissonii)

galery
en

Description

Primula poissonii, Poisson's primrose, is a species of flowering plant in the primrose family Primulaceae, native to wet areas at altitudes of 2,500–3,100 m (8,200–10,200 ft) in western Sichuan and central and northern Yunnan, China. This semi-evergreen perennial belongs to the Candelabra group of primulas (sect. Proliferae), with leaves forming a rosette, the leaf blades obovate-elliptic to oblanceolate, strongly tapering to base. The flowers are arranged in whorls at regular intervals up the vertical stem. The corolla is deep purplish crimson or rose-purple, tubular, 0.9 to 1.1 cm in length, rising from a scape of 25–40 cm (9.8–15.7 in) in length. Primula poissonii is sometimes cultivated as an ornamental plant. It requires a heavy, moisture-retentive, acid or neutral soil in full sun or partial shade. It is an ideal subject for the wet banks of a pond or stream. 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).

Taxonomic tree:

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