Primulaceae

Primulaceae

[‚prim·yə′lās·ē‚ē]

(botany)

A family of dicotyledonous plants in the order Primulales characterized by a herbaceous habit and capsular fruit with two to many seeds.

Primulaceae

 

(primroses), a family of dicotyledonous plants. Most of the species are annual or perennial herbs; a few are subshrubs. The leaves are mainly simple, and some are glandular or farinose. The flowers are bisexual and usually regular; the sepals and petals are fused. Heterostyly characterizes many of the plants. There is generally a superior ovary; some are partly inferior. The fruit is a capsule or, occasionally, a pyxis.

There are 30 genera of Primulaceae, embracing more than 800 species. They are found throughout the world but primarily in the temperate and cold zones of the northern hemisphere. Many species are found in mountainous regions and in the arctic. The USSR has 18 genera, comprising about 145 species. These include the genera Lysimachia, Cyclamen, Androsace, Trientalis, and Hottonia. Several species, including some of the genera Primula and Cyclamen, are ornamentals.

REFERENCE

Flora SSSR, vol. 18. Moscow-Leningrad, 1952.
Takhtadzhian, A. L. Sistema i filogeniia tsvetkovykh rastenii. Moscow-Leningrad, 1966.