FFF661 - PRIMULA

Primula malacoides (ht to 30cm) is a pretty winter/spring annual that is easy to grow and will tolerate shade. It is a determined self-seeder: Even if not planted for years the seedlings pop up everywhere in autumn - and in winter and spring they look so pretty with their tiered layers of simple flowers of pinks, white or mauve.

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FFF563 - PRIMULA

Primula beesiana, now treated as a subspecies of Primula bulleyana, is one of the species known as candelabra primroses. It is a tall Primula with purple-red flowers. Stems of Primula beesiana grow 50–60 cm high and flower in late spring or early summer. The flowers are fragrant and require diligent watering.

Primroses come in many shapes and sizes. The Candelabra group are grown for their colourful display of flowers arranged in tiers or layers on tall, upright stems. This species features heads of rose-purple flowers with a yellow eye. Foliage is light green, held in a low rosette at ground level. All Candelabra type primrose prefer a rich soil that is constantly moist, and dislike any hint of summer drought. A stream bank or pond side setting is ideal. Allow plants to self-sow. Will tolerate full sun in cool summer regions.

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FFF408 - POLYANTHUS

Primula is a genus of 400–500 species of flowering herbaceous plants in the family Primulaceae. They include primrose, auricula, cowslip and oxlip. Many species are grown for their ornamental flowers. They are native to the temperate northern hemisphere, south into tropical mountains in Ethiopia, Indonesia and New Guinea, and in temperate southern South America.

Perennial primulas bloom mostly during the spring; their flowers can be purple, yellow, red, pink, or white. Generally, they prefer filtered sunlight. Many species are adapted to alpine climates. The word primula is the Latin feminine diminutive of primus, meaning first (prime), applied to flowers that are among the first to open in spring. Primroses are used as food plants by the larvae (caterpillars) of some Lepidoptera species, including Duke of Burgundy butterfly, Large Yellow Underwing and Lesser Broad-bordered.

The term Polyanthus (often called Primula polyantha) refers to an interspecific garden hybrid between coloured varieties of P. vulgaris and P. veris, possibly with a small admixture of P. juliae. This has produced a large variety of strains in all colours, which are usually grown as annuals, and are available as seeds or young plants.

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FFF182 - CYCLAMEN

Cyclamen persicum, the Persian cyclamen, in the family Primulaceae, is a species of flowering herbaceous perennial plant growing from a tuber, native to rocky hillsides, shrubland, and woodland up to 1,200 m above sea level, from south-central Turkey to Israel and Jordan. It also grows in Algeria and Tunisia and on the Greek islands of Rhodes, Karpathos, and Crete, where it may have been introduced by monks. Cultivars of this species are the commonly seen florist's cyclamen.

Wild plants have heart-shaped leaves, up to 14 cm usually green with lighter marbling on the upper surface. Flowers bloom from winter to spring (var. persicum) or in autumn (var. autumnale) and have 5 small sepals and 5 upswept petals, usually white to pale pink with a band of deep pink to magenta at the base. After pollination, the flower stem curls downwards slightly as the pod develops, but does not coil as in other cyclamens. Plants go dormant in summer.

Cyclamen persicum has a dark-brown tuberous root which is semi-poisonous. In some cultures, the tubers were used in making soap, as they generate a lather when mixed with water. The Bedouins of Mandate Palestine used to collect the root, and after grating it, would mix it with lime and sprinkle it over the surface of lakes or other large bodies of water known to contain fish. These poisonous mixtures would stun fish, which would then come to the surface and be collected by the fishermen. Such methods, as well as fishing with explosives, which came into use in the early 20th century, were banned by the British Mandate authorities.

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