primrose
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Related to primroses: English primrose
primrose,
common name for the genus Primula of the Primulaceae, a family of low perennial herbs with species found on all continents, most frequently in north temperate regions. Among the better-known members of the family are the primroses (genus Primula), cyclamens (genus Cyclamen), pimpernels (genus Anagallis), and loosestrifes (chiefly genus Lysimachia). Species of all these genera are cultivated as rock-garden, border, and pot plants. The primrose, a common and favored wildflower of England, has often been celebrated in poetry. A common yellow species (P. veris) is called cowslip in England. Several primroses are indigenous to North America. The American cowslip, often called shooting star, is a separate genus (Dodocatheon); it is an Eastern wildflower. The evening primroseevening primrose,common name for the Onagraceae, a family of plants of worldwide distribution, most species of which grow as herbs in the temperate New World, and specifically for members of the genus Oenothera.
..... Click the link for more information. is not a true primrose. Tuberous-rooted cyclamens are native chiefly to the European Alps; C. indicum is a common florists' pot plant in the United States. The scarlet pimpernel, or poorman's-weatherglass (A. arvensis), is native to Eurasia but has been naturalized in North America; its flowers close on the approach of bad weather. Loosestrifes are easily cultivated flowers that thrive under moist conditions; some are creeping species, e.g., the moneywort, or creeping Jenny, of E North America. Several unrelated plants are also called loosestrifeloosestrife,
common name for the Lythraceae, a widely distributed family of plants most abundant as woody shrubs in the American tropics but including also herbaceous species (chiefly of temperate zones) and some trees.
..... Click the link for more information. . Primroses are classified in the division MagnoliophytaMagnoliophyta
, division of the plant kingdom consisting of those organisms commonly called the flowering plants, or angiosperms. The angiosperms have leaves, stems, and roots, and vascular, or conducting, tissue (xylem and phloem).
..... Click the link for more information. , class Magnoliopsida, order Primulales.
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primrose
Colorful, edible flower with sweet, bland taste. Note there is another plant also called Cowslip (Marsh Marigold) which isn’t the same.
Edible Plant Guide © 2012 Markus Rothkranz
primrose
symbol of early youth. [Flower Symbolism: Flora Symbolica, 176; Kunz, 327]
See: Youth
Allusions—Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
primrose
primrose
1. any of various temperate primulaceous plants of the genus Primula, esp P. vulgaris of Europe, which has pale yellow flowers
2. short for evening primrose
3. a light to moderate yellow, sometimes with a greenish tinge
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005