5.
Primula laurentiana
Fernald, Rhodora. 30: 68. 1928.
Bird's-eye primrose, primevère laurentienne
Primula farinosa
Linnaeus var.
macropoda
Fernald, Rhodora 9: 16. 1907, not
P. macropoda
Craib 1919;
P. mistassinica
Michaux var.
macropoda
(Fernald) B. Boivin
Plants
10-48 cm, herbaceous; rhizomes thin, short; rosettes not clumped; vegetative parts usually farinose but sometimes efarinose in age.
Leaves
not aromatic, indistinctly petiolate; petiole broadly winged; blade without deep reticulate veins abaxially, oblanceolate to spatulate, 3-10 × 0.4-1.3 cm, thin, margins crenate, apex obtuse to acute, surfaces glabrous.
Inflorescences
3-12-flowered; involucral bracts saccate, ± equal.
Pedicels
erect or spreading, sturdy, 5-10 mm, length ca. 2 times bracts, somewhat flexuous.
Flowers
homostylous; calyx green, campanulate, 5-8 mm; corolla lavender, tube 6-9 mm, length 1.5-2 times calyx, eglandular, limb 10-16 mm diam., lobes 5-8 mm, apex emarginate.
Capsules
ellipsoid, length 1.5-2 times calyx.
Seeds
without flanged edges, reticulate.
2
n
= 72.
Flowering summer. Moist open areas, meadows and stream banks on calcareous soils; 0-300 m; N.B., Nfld. and Labr., N.S., Ont., Que.; Maine.
Primula laurentiana
is the octoploid member of a polyploid complex of sect.
Aleuritia
in North America that encompasses ploidy levels from 2
x
to 14
x
. It is most similar to the hexaploid
P. incana
; it differs in its larger flowers, more open inflorescence, and more robust stature. Both species are heavily farinose and have homostylous flowers. The efarinose form described as forma
chlorophylla
Fernald is a common variant throughout the range of the species. In coastal northeastern Canada,
P. laurentiana
blends morphologically and ecologically with
P. stricta
and crossing between the two is likely; assessment of species identity can be difficult here.
