Primula malacoides Franch.
Section Monocarpicae
Link to Flora of China description
Type specimens Delavay 119 and 312 reside at P (specimens P04544285 (lectotype), P04544267 (isolectotype), P04544286 (syntype), P04544287 (syntype), P04544289 (syntype), P04544291 (syntype)).
Primula delicata Petitm.
Primula forbesii subsp. delicata (Petitm.) W.W.Sm. & Forrest
Primula malacoides subsp. pseudomalacoides (Steward) W.W.Sm. & Forrest
Primula forbesii pseudomalacoides Steward
Epithet: Named for the soft texture of the leaves.
Distribution: Yunnan, W Guangxi, Guizhou.
Primula malacoides was described from collections made by Delavay in the late 1800's in cultivated fields near Dali, Yunnan. P. forbesii was also collected near Dali, but from marshes and canals. The two species can be difficult to distinguish. In P. malacoides the petioles equal or exceed the blade (shorter in P. forbesii) and the lowest tier of flowers is contiguous to the leaves (lowest tier far exceeds the leaves in P. forbesii).
In the early 1900's plants came into cultivation and since that time it has been selected for many variations and, combined with the copious seeds produced, it has become a favorite of the garden nursery trade worldwide. As a result, this species has escaped from cultivation in many countries, including South America, and it is also seen near temples where it has been used as an offering.
P. malacoides is an annual with broadly ovate to elliptic or oblong-elliptic leaves, cordate or truncate at the base, margin crenate-lobulate with 6-8 pairs of multidentate lobules, sparingly pilose above, subglabrous, efarinose or white farinose below sometimes with septate hairs on the main veins. Petiole 2-15cm and conspicuously pilose and often reddish tinted in the lower half. Scapes 1-2(or more) per plant, 10-40cm tall, pilose or glabrescent, efarinose or farinose bearing 1-6 whorls each of 4-20 flowers. Pedicels more or less efarinose. Calyx campanulate, efarinose or farinose parted to the middle. Flowers vary in color from rose or lavender to white, sometimes with a yellow eye, exannulate, heteromorphic.
The images below are certainly all cultivated escapees.
