麝草报春 she cao bao chun

Primula tsarongensis I. B. Balfour & Forrest.

Herbs perennial. Leaves forming a rosette; petiole 1/5--1/2 as long as leaf blade; leaf blade obovate-spatulate to oblong-lanceolate, 5--15 X 2--3.5 cm, abaxially nearly glabrous except sparsely pubescent on midvein, adaxially ± pilose, base long attenuate, margin crenate-dentate, apex rounded. Scapes 18--40 cm, glabrous; inflorescences compact, short spicate, efarinose or sometimes farinose, many flowered. Flowers reflexed, heterostylous. Calyx subcampanulate, 4--5 mm, parted to middle; lobes unequal, ovate-elliptic; uppermost lobe usually tinged with dark purple, 2- or 3-toothed. Corolla deep purplish blue, tubular-infundibuliform; tube ca. 1.2 cm; limb slightly spreading, 5--7 mm wide; lobes nearly quadrate, ca. 2 X 2 mm, apex truncate or slightly notched. Pin flowers: stamens 2--3 mm above base of corolla tube; style ca. as long as tube. Thrum flowers: stamens 7--8 mm above base of corolla tube; style ca. 2 mm. Capsule elliptic, slightly longer than calyx. Fl. Jun-Jul. 2n = 40.

* Moist meadows. SW Sichuan, SE Xizang, NW Yunnan