Primula griffithii - Violet Primrose

Violet Primrose is a perennial herb with deep purple flowers 2-2.5 cm wide with a bright yellow eye, carried in a 5-12-flowered umbel atop a flowering stem 10-20 cm, elongating to 45 cm in fruit, powdery toward tip. It is named for Dr. William Griffith, 19th century botanist and curator of the Botanic Garden in Calcutta. Petals are obovate, glandular fringed with hairs, notched. Flower-stalks are 1-2 cm, yellow powdery. Flowers are heterostylous. Pin flowers: flower tube 1--1.1 cm; stamens about 4.5 mm above base of flower tube; style about as long as tube. Thrum flowers: stamens toward tip of flower tube; style slightly longer than sepal-cup. Sepal-cup is bell-shaped, 4-5 mm, densely powdery, parted to 1/3; sepals triangular to almost rectangular, tip pointed to blunt. Leaves are 6-10 x 2-6 cm at flowering, enlarging to 20-30 cm at fruiting. Outer leaves oblong-inverted-lanceshaped to elliptic, base narrowed, margin sharply toothed to rounded toothed, tip pointed to somewhat blunt. Violet Primrose is found in E. Himalaya to S. Tibet, at altitudes of 3100-4000 m. Flowering: May-June.