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FOC | Family List | FOC Vol. 15 | Primulaceae

8. Primula Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 142. 1753.

报春花属 bao chun hua shu

Primula amethystina

Credit: Nick Turland

Herbs perennial, rarely annual, glabrous or pubescent, often farinose. Leaves simple, forming a rosette. Flowers usually heterostylous with pin (with longer styles) and thrum (with shorter styles) flowers; sometimes homostylous, in umbellate, racemose, subcapitate, or spicate inflorescences on scapes, with bracts; rarely solitary, scapes undeveloped. Calyx campanulate or cylindric, sometimes leaflike, 5-toothed. Corolla tube cylindric, not constricted at throat; limb 5-lobed, spreading or campanulate; lobes 2-cleft, margin entire. Stamens inserted on corolla tube; filaments very short; anthers obtuse. Ovary superior. Capsule globose, ovoid, or cylindric, dehiscing by valves, rarely with an operculum or crumbling; seeds numerous.

Approximately 500 species, mostly indigenous to the N temperate zone, with only a few outliers on the mountainous regions of Africa (Ethiopia), tropical Asia (Java and Sumatra), and South America. About 300 species are native to China.

Many species are imperfectly known, sometimes collected only once. This is reflected occasionally by missing details on pin or thrum morphology, fruiting characteristics, or ecology.

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The 300 species are represented by 24 sections according to C. M. Hu: 1. Sect. Monocarpicae Franchet ex Pax: spp. 1--13. 2. Sect. Obconicolisteri I. B. Balfour: spp. 14--23. 3. Sect. Cortusoides I. B. Balfour: spp. 24--40. 4. Sect. Malvacea I. B. Balfour: spp. 41--47. 5. Sect. Auganthus (Link) Pax ex I. B. Balfour: spp. 48--50. 6. Sect. Pycnoloba I. B. Balfour: sp. 51. 7. Sect. Ranunculoides Chen & C. M. Hu: spp. 52--53. 8. Sect. Primula: sp. 54. 9. Sect. Carolinella (Hemsley) Pax: spp. 55--62. 10. Sect. Bullatae Pax: spp. 63--66. 11. Sect. Petiolares Pax: spp. 67--115. 12. Sect. Proliferae Pax: spp. 116--134. 13. Sect. Amethystina I. B. Balfour: spp. 135--142. 14. Sect. Sikkimensis I. B. Balfour: spp. 143--150. 15. Sect. Crystallophlomis Rupr.: spp. 151--191. 16. Sect. Cordifoliae Pax: spp. 192--196. 17. Sect. Aleuritia Duby: spp. 197--242. Spp. 238--242 are recognized in Europe and North America as Sect. Armerina. 18. Sect. Minutissimae Pax: spp. 243--259. 19. Sect. Souliei I. B. Balfour ex W. W. Smith & Forrest: spp. 260--265. 20. Sect. Dryadifolia I. B. Balfour: spp. 266--268. 21. Sect. Denticulata Watt: spp. 269--274. 22. Sect. Capitatae Pax: spp. 275--276. 23. Sect. Muscarioides I. B. Balfour: spp. 277--289. 24. Sect. Soldanelloides Pax: spp. 290--300.


Key 3

1 Scapes and corolla with multicellular hairs   290 Primula buryana
+ Scapes and corolla glabrous or minutely glandular.   (2)
       
2 (1) Flowers 4-7 mm in diam.; leaf blade ca. 1 cm.   (3)
+ Flowers at least 10 mm in diam.; leaf blade usually more than 1 cm.   (4)
       
3 (2) Scapes glandular; leaves coarsely pinnatifid-dentate, with obtuse teeth   291 Primula sapphirina
+ Scapes glabrous; leaves sharply dentate on distal 1/2   292 Primula flabellifera
       
4 (2) Corolla white or yellow.   (5)
+ Corolla purple or violet.   (6)
       
5 (4) Corolla white; bracts lanceolate, 2-6 mm   293 Primula eburnea
+ Corolla yellow; bracts ovate to ovate-oblong, 6-15 mm   135 Primula faberi
       
6 (4) Inflorescences short spicate; corolla tube ca. 2 × as long as calyx.   (7)
+ Inflorescences capitate; corolla tube nearly as long as calyx.   (8)
       
7 (6) Spikes compact, flowers contiguous   295 Primula flaccida
+ Spikes lax, flowers 0.5-1.5(-3) cm apart   296 Primula spicata
       
8 (6) Corolla narrowly campanulate; lobes narrowly oblong, with 2 or 3 linear-triangular lobules   297 Primula cawdoriana
+ Corolla broadly campanulate or widely funnelform, lobes orbicular to broadly obovate or broadly ovate.   (9)
       
9 (8) Corolla funnelform, lobes emarginate or erose-denticulate at apex   299 Primula sandemaniana
+ Corolla campanulate, lobes entire   300 Primula wollastonii

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