PRIMROSE FAMILY

Bird’s-eye Primrose Primula farinosa

Plate 16, fig. 1

The lilac flowers of the Bird’s-eye Primrose grow in clusters at the tips of unbranched stems. The plants are 4-8 in. high and bloom in the spring. They are found along brook-banks and in wet meadows at 7000-9000 ft. Both the botanical and common names of the Primrose refer to the almost universal habit of blooming in early spring.

Yellow Primrose Steironema ciliatum

Plate 16, fig. 2

The blossoms of the Yellow Primrose grow in pairs in the axils of the leaves and bloom in summer. The plants are 2-5 ft. high and grow in grassy meadows and along streams at 3000-8000 ft.

Primrose Primula Parryi

Plate 16, fig. 3

The red-purple blossoms of this Primrose grow in large, loose clusters on stems 6 in.-2 ft. tall. The plants are strong-scented and are found hidden away in alpine rock-clefts or along subalpine torrents at 9000-14000 ft. They bloom in early and midsummer and have a fragrance very like musk. The flowers are large and resemble those of the cultivated primroses.

Shooting Star Dodecatheon meadia

Plate 16, fig. 4

The Shooting Stars vary in color from pale pink to deep bright reddish-purple, and occasionally white ones are found. They hang downward in loose clusters from the tips of leafless reddish stems, 6-20 in. tall, and bloom in early and midsummer. They occur along brook-banks and in wet meadows at 5000-12000 ft.

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Plate 16

PRIMROSE FAMILY

1 Bird’s-eye Primrose: Primula farinosa 2 Yellow Primrose: Steironema ciliatum 3 Primrose: Primula Parryi 4 Shooting Star: Dodecatheon meadia 5 Rock Jasmine: Androsace chamaejasme 6 Fairy Primrose: Primula angustifolia 8 Seawort: Glaux maritima 9 Douglas Primrose: Douglasia montana

WINTERGREEN FAMILY

7 Wintergreen: Pirola uliginosa

HEATH FAMILY

10 Bearberry, Kinnikinnic: Arctostaphylus uva-ursi

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Rock Jasmine Androsace chamaejasme

Plate 16, fig. 5

The tiny Rock Jasmine carpets alpine gravel-slides with its moss-like leaves or hides shyly away in alpine rock-clefts at 10000-14000 ft. The flowers are white and primrose-like, with pink or yellow centers, and they often turn pink as they wither. They grow in tiny clusters at the tips of dwarf stems 1-3 in. high. The flowers are fragrant and bloom from early to midsummer.

Fairy Primrose Primula angustifolia

Plate 16, fig. 6

The Fairy Primrose is another alpine dwarf, growing but a few inches high in meadows at 10000-14000 ft. The reddish-purple flower with yellow center is usually solitary at the tip of the stem and blossoms in early summer, which is of course spring at these altitudes.

Seawort Glaux maritima

Plate 16, fig. 8

The Seawort receives its name from the fact that it possesses fleshy leaves and prefers saline soil, though it is also found in dry regions at 3000-6000 ft. The tiny pink flowers occur in the axils of the leaves along the stems which are 2-12 in. tall. They bloom in summer and are found in northern countries around the globe.

Douglas Primrose Douglasia montana

Plate 16, fig. 9

The lilac blossoms of this slender little plant open in early and midsummer. The plants grow but 2-5 inches tall and are found in mountain meadows at 6000-11000 ft.

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