Primula advena W. W. Smith, Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinburgh. 19: 311. 1938
Section Crystallophlomis, Subsection Maximowiczii
Link to Flora of China description
Type specimen: Ludlow and Sherriff 2242 resides at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (specimen E00024599)
Type var argentata specimen: Hanbury-Tracy 67 resides at British Museum (specimen BM000996939) W. W. Smith, Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinburgh. 19: 312. 1938.
Type var concolor specimen: Kingdon-Ward 10592 resides at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (specimen E00024600) and British Museum (specimen BM000996938) W. W. Smith, Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinburgh. 19: 312. 1938.
Type var euprepes specimen: Kingdon-Ward 5817 resides at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (specimen E00024602 and E00024601) W. W. Smith, Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinburgh. 15:79. 1926, Chen & C. M. Hu, Flora of China. 15: 158. 1996.
P. advena is found in SE Tibet. This species has a confusing taxonomic history. Plants collected on Nam La, Tibet by Kingdon-Ward were intially thought to be a form of P. szechuanica which it closely resembles, however P. advena is geographically separated from P. szechuanica (Sichuan and Yunnan). The type of P. advena has a yellow corolla with relexed lobes and a purple tube as shown in the first two images.
Several varieties of P. advena have been described: var argentata has leaf margins and teeth densely farinose and the tube is the same color as the lobes; var concolor has more elongate corolla lobes, and the tube is the same color as the lobes. Both of these varieties are considered P. advena var advena by the Flora of China, but kept distinct by Richards and Halda.
The dark chocolate form collected by Kingdon-Ward on the Nyima La, Tibet was initially described as P. maximowiczii var euprepes but is geographically separated from P. maximowiczii. Later it was described as P. advena var euprepes which is more consistent geographically. Based on plants from the Zheduo Shan, Sichuan, Richards described a new species, P. euprepes, which included P. advena var euprepes as a synonym, however this species was already described by Hu as P. melanantha which is the correct name. P. advena var euprepes is considered distinct from P. melanantha.
