Primula auricula
Maybe it is just because it is Spring, but I have been seeing all sorts of mentioned of auricula in the last week or so. Gardener’s World on the BBC had an entire segment on them and they have been popping up in my RSS feed reading, too (See 100 Flower : #031 Auriculas). I recently took my own photo of a Primula auricula here in the neighborhood. Most seem to like to raise auricula in pots and arrange them in little displays, but this is far too fussy for me. I could see one area of a raised bed perhaps or maybe a large, permanent container of them. They are quite cute and their is a wide variety of types to choose from.
- Primula auricula, often known as auricula, mountain cowslip or bear’s ear (from the shape of its leaves), is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae, that grows onbasic rocks in the mountain ranges of central Europe, including the western Alps, Jura mountains, the Vosges, the Black Forest and the Tatra Mountains.
It is an evergreen perennial growing to 20 cm (8 in) tall by 25 cm (10 in) wide.[1] The leaves are obovate and stalkless, with a cartilaginous edge, all growing in a basal rosette, and sometimes covered in a mealy white bloom.[1] The yellow flowers grow in clusters on 5–20 cm (2–8 in) long stalks.
The specific epithet auricula means “ear-shaped”, and refers to the shape of the leaves.[2] — Wikipedia
More Primula books, art, plants and seed at Amazon.com
Previously in the Interesting Plant series:
- Feathery Cassia (Senna auricula)
- Red Stick Dogwood (Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’)
- Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum)
- Kousa Dogwood (Cornus kousa)
- Giant Chalk Dudleya (Dudleya brittonii)
- Sunrose (Helianthemum nummularium)
- Australian/New Zealand Tea Tree (Leptospermum scoparium)
- Brugmansia Sanguinea
- Calico Monkeyflower (Mimulus pictus)
- Colocasia Esculenta
- Acer palmatum ‘Sango-kaku’ (Coral Bark Japanese Maple)
- Linderniaceae (formerly Torenia) Kuaui Deep Blue
- Passiflora (Passion flower)
- Firewheel Tree (Stenocarpus sinuatus)
- Anemone
- Allium Cowanii
- Symphyotrichum oblongifolius (Purple Aster)
- Hemerocallis ‘Derrick Cane’ (Daylily)
- Agastache ‘Aztec Rose’
- Rudbeckia hirta Moreno
- Kalanchoe Tomentosa
- Albuca namaquensis
- Hosta ‘Remember Me’
- Dahlia ‘Clair de Lune’
- Lovely silver-tinged fern on campus of Oberlin College, Ohio
- Tricolor Beech (Fagus sylvatica Purpurea Tricolor)
- Climbing Hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala petiolaris)
- Eremurus ‘Lemon Meringue’
- Lupine “Sunrise” (Lupinus hartwegii)
- Chinese Fringe Flower (Loropetalum chinense)
- Streptocarpus ‘Harlequin Blue’
- Nigella damascena (love-in-a-mist, ragged lady)
- Epiphyllum (Orchid Cactus)
- Sempervivum ‘Westerlin’
- Gladiolus ‘Kings Lynn’
- Hosta sieboldiana ‘Dorothy Benedict’
- Begonia “Escargot”
- Asparagus Pea (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus)
- Rosa banksiae (Lady Banks’ Rose)
- Primula ‘Victoriana Silver Laced Black’
- Oxalis versicolor
- Poached Egg Plant (Limnanthes douglasii)
- Parisian Carrots
- Fritillaria imperialis Rubra Maxima
- Clematis “Fascination”
- Swiss Chard “Bright Lights”
- Georgia Rattlesnake Melon
- Dianthus Barbathus “Green Ball” or “Green Trick”
- Coleus “Religious Radish”
- Black Forest Calla Lily
- Black Bamboo
Interesting Plant is a series from A Gardener’s Notebook blog and podcast that highlights the most interesting plants I find in my Internet and real-world travels — Douglas