Primula ludlowii W. W. Smith, Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinburgh 19:172 1936.
Section Soldanelloides
Link to Flora of Bhutan description
Type specimen: Ludlow & Sherriff 554 resides at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (specimen E00024741) and British Museum (specimen BM000997015).
P. sherriffiae var. ludlowii (W.W. Smith): A. J. Richards, Primula 278 (1993).
Epithet: Named for Frank Ludlow.
Distribution: Endemic to Bhutan.
P. ludlowii was found at the same location and at the same time as P. sherriffiae and is a smaller plant with usually solitary flowers without farina on the corolla, but with fine hairs on the inside and outside of the flower. Scape is obsolete. It was thought that this may be a depauperate form of P. sherriffiae and John Richards accordingly reduced it to a variety of P. sherriffiae. Wild images now show that this species is distinct by the characteristics listed. It is still unclear as to whether P. ludlowii and P. sherriffiae interbreed or that intermediate plants showing characteristics of both species exist. Until further study resolves this, I am listing P. ludlowii at specfic rank. Compare related: P. sherriffiae. See blog post "Primula ludlowii - Species, Subspecies or Variety".
