Primula ianthina Balf.f. & Cave
Section Proliferae
Type specimen: Cave s.n. 29th July, 1914 resides at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (specimen E00024399).
Epithet: Named for ?
Distribution: Darjeeling,West Bengal and Phek District, Nagaland, India, and Nepal.
A typical caldelabra type species, similar to P. prolifera, with up to 3 whorls of flowers on scapes to 60cm. The most obvious characteristic is color (P. ianthina is pink to violet where as P. prolifera is yellow) but also P. ianthina has bracts and calyx lobes which can have fimbria at the apex, though this is inconsistent even within the same plant. The leaves are glandular pitted especially on the lower surface and the calyx is farinose and divided to the middle. First found on the Singalela Ridge on the Sikim side, but also occurs on the Nepal side and recently discovered in Nagaland.
