Primula laurentiana??

[Kristl Walek]

P. laurentiana is a rare plant in cultivation and is unlikely to be correct unless grown from wild collected seed (which may as stated now be illegal).

I hate to flog a dead horse---but, please indulge me because I have a particular abhorrence of the spread of incorrect botanic information --- which is particularly prevalent and easy these days because of "talking" online.

IT IS NOT ILLEGAL TO COLLECT PRIMULA LAURENTIANA OR MISTASSINICA SEED IN CANADA!!!!
I qualify this only to exclude the species growing in parks or spots set aside as reserves, preserves, etc. etc. etc.

Both species are considered G5 (Globally secure).

Even in the state of Maine, where P. laurentiana is of "Special Concern" it is, according to the State Of Maine Conservation Authority

"not sufficiently rare to be considered Threatened or Endangered"


 

[TheOnionMan]

Kristl, I've been sitting back and enjoying this thread immensely; learning so much about these little North American primula.  Your two series of photos on Primula mistassinica & laurentiana really show the differences in the plants well, the photos of P. laurentiana actually very good and detailed. The 3 images of P. mistassinica growing out of an old rotted tree stump are special portraits, what a sweet primula.

In case anyone wants to see the USDA Plant Profiles on these two species, here they are, I'm rather surprised by the distribution on Primula mistassinica, extending down as far as Iowa and Illinois.

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=PRMI
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=PRLA

What can you tell us about P. stricta (syn. hornemanniana), it's not in Nova Scotia but is in Quebec, Ontario, and elsewhere in Canada.
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=PRST

[Great Moravian]

Beautiful images and beautiful plants. The Primula mistassinica is really fantastic.
The miniature Primula laurentiana is so different I would never guess it is
the species. And challenging to. It seems to be identical to the plant in
the Primula World photographed by Todd Boland. Thank you, Kristl.
By the way, Primula World is unique in all aspects. There exists nothing
similar for other genera in rock gardening.

[Kristl Walek]

And lastly: the "farinose" issue:

P. mistassinica---(one former synonym is, by the way, P. farinosa var. mistassinica) are GENERALLY efarinose (or only slightly farinose in young leaves). This has been my experience in the wild. BUT because it is the most widespread of the North American primula, there is great variation --- including farinose forms  (var. novaeboracensis) which occurs near the Great Lakes.

P. laurentiana---GENERALLY (heavily) farinose (sometimes efarinose with age), and there are efarinose varieties that are common.

[Kristl Walek]

Mark,
I first saw P. stricta long ago in the Yukon (it is my notes as P. incana, per Flora Of The Yukon), growing along rivers. Sadly all my pictures were old SLR camera, and have never scanned my slides. I do remember thinking it reminded me a lot of P. laurentiana (heavily farinose, similar height) etc. This is circumboreal, so perhaps some of our Scandinavian friends might chime in.

I will be botanizing at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland this summer, where both P. stricta and P. egaliksensis (which I have never seen before in the wild) are found. Pictures will follow then.

[Graham Catlow]

Great photos Kristl.
I just hope I can get them to the same stage when they arrive

[Kristl Walek]

Graham, You have reminded me that I have not discussed the cultivation of these two species in the garden.
Both are challenging, and P. mistassinica has been the hardest of the two to keep happy in the garden (but then many species that thrive in situations of consistent moisture at root level are difficult). They were hard, in particular in Ontario with it's stifling hot, humid summers.

I did bring a small plant of P. mistassinica with me to Nova Scotia and planted it in the open shade at the base of the rock garden, where it was most assured consistent moisture. And the fact that the summers are significantly cooler and moister here has resulted in a reasonably happy plant, so far.  Weather is not so different from the UK except I believe we get more sun in the Annapolis Valley.

P. laurentiana has been much more accomodating--and is grown in the open rock garden, in much better conditions than it sees in the wild and seems content. In Ontario, I would have had to grow this in a shadier, more protected spot, because of the intense sun. Only time will tell how long lived it will be in cultivation.

Of course we have little inclination in North America to grow plants in pots and no tradition of show benches, so those alternatives would not really be considered by most gardeners here. I think it might be relatively straightforward getting P. mistassinica behaving in pot culture, where one could much more easily control soil, moisture and light.

[Graham Catlow]

Thanks Kristl,
I will bear all these points in mind when the seeds arrive. I plan to start some in a tray and transplant at a later date. I also thought I would perhaps try a few seeds in-situ in a trough. What do you think?

[Lesley Cox]

Forgive a diversion please, but there is an iris in one of the P. laurentiana pictures. Which species would this likely be Kristl?

[ashley]

I'm unsure of the IDs for these two from far-western NWT and would appreciate comments:

Primula incana ?   Mackenzie delta below Inuvik
Primula eximia ?   Richardson Mountains near the Yukon border

[Kristl Walek]

Ashley, I think the first is Primula stricta (incana)....the second I want seed of, no matter what the name!!!
Primula World pictures --- eximia certainly looks like your plant.

There are a number of fascinating far northern species---and I just recently read an article about yet another new one discovered in Alaska.

Take a look at this website: Sitka Nature, with P. eximia featured on opening page.

http://www.sitkanature.org/wordpress/2009/07/10/starrigavan-ridge-hike-2/

[Kristl Walek]

Forgive a diversion please, but there is an iris in one of the P. laurentiana pictures. Which species would this likely be Kristl?

Lesley,
That is Iris hookeri (setosa canadensis)---the rocks are solid with them.
Also in the "site picture" is Rosularia rosea blooming in the distance.

[ashley]

Ashley, I think the first is Primula stricta (incana)....the second I want seed of, no matter what the name!!!
There are a number of fascinating Alaskan species---and I just recently read an article about yet another new one discovered.

Thanks very much Kristl.  Interesting link.
Yes the second one is a beauty but in mid-July I had to hunt around to find a few plants still in flower.  
As far as I can tell it matches the description of P. eximia in Flora of Yukon and resembles the PrimulaWorld photos for that species, as you say.
Sorry but I have no seeds, and it's a long way to go back

[TheOnionMan]

It deserves mention, Primula eximia might be better known as a subspecies of  P. tschuktschorum, but later raised to species status with two other ssp merged (ssp. arctica, ssp. cairnesiana).

Other links:
http://www.springerlink.com/content/v39466h451740k7g/
http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=24016
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=PREX2
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=PRTS

[ashley]

Thanks for those links Mark.