Family |
Primulaceae
Primula vulgaris
Huds.
Primula vulgaris Huds.
First published in Fl. Angl.: 70 (1762).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 3, p. 9, Pl. V, 2; 1983)
Description
Life-form & habit: Perennial with leaves in a basal rosette and numerous single-flowered stalks, 5–10 cm high including the flowers.
Leaves: Obovate-oblong, somewhat wrinkled and blistered, hairy beneath, especially along the veins, and narrowing into a short stalk.
Inflorescence & flowers: Flower stalks as long as or shorter than the leaves, softly velvety like the calyx. Calyx angular, with erect lanceolate teeth. The broad corolla limb is divided into inversely heart-shaped lobes and is yellowish-white or pale red. Mouterde notes that reddish flowers are relatively frequent locally but do not predominate, especially at low elevations.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: March–April, continuing until June in the mountains.
Habitat & elevation: Shaded or damp places.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Jezzine, Ghazir, Ghine, Mchata, Faraya, Mejdel towards Afqa, Neba el Assal, Jabal Hadid, Tannourine, Qomair, Bcharre–Ehden, above Sir, Akkar el Atiq and Qoubbayat.
Syrian distribution: Safita, Nabi Younes, Slenfe and Ain Haramiyé.
Recorded locations: Kfertay.
Native range: Albania, Algeria, Austria, Baleares, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Corse, Cyprus, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, East Aegean Is., France, Føroyar, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kriti, Krym, Lebanon-Syria, Morocco, Netherlands, North Caucasus, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Portugal, Romania, Sicilia, Spain, Switzerland, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine. Kew lists Poland and Sweden separately as extinct.