Primula veris

Primula veris
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Primulaceae
Genus:	Primula
Species:	P. veris
Binomial name
Primula veris L.
Subspecies
Primula veris subsp. macrocalyx

Primula veris (cowslip, common cowslip; syn. Primula officinalis Hill) is a flowering plant in the genus Primula of the family Primulaceae. The species is native throughout most of temperate Europe and Asia, and although absent from more northerly areas including much of northwest Scotland, it reappears in northernmost Sutherland and Orkney.

Names

The common name cowslip may derive from the old English for cow dung, probably because the plant was often found growing amongst the manure in cow pastures. An alternative derivation simply refers to slippery or boggy ground; again, a typical habitat for this plant.

The species name vēris means "of spring". However, this is not the first primula to flower, being preceded by the primrose P. vulgaris.

Other folk names include cuy lippe, herb peter, paigle, peggle, key flower, key of heaven, fairy cups, petty mulleins, crewel, buckles, palsywort, plumrocks, tittypines.

Description

Primula veris

Primula veris is a variable evergreen or semi-evergreen perennial plant growing to 25 cm (10 in) tall and broad, with a rosette of leaves 5–15 cm long and 2–6 cm broad. The deep yellow flowers are produced in spring, in clusters of 10-30 blooms together on a single stem. Each flower is 9–15 mm broad. Red-flowered plants occur rarely.

Habitat and conservation

Primula veris in a meadow.

The cowslip is frequently found on more open ground than the primrose, including open fields, meadows, coastal dunes and clifftops. The plant suffered a decline due to changing agricultural practices throughout the 1970s and 1980s in Britain. It may therefore be rare locally, though where found it may be abundant. Additionally the seeds are now often included in wildflower seed mixes used to landscape motorway banks and similar civil engineering earthworks where the plants may be seen in dense stands. This practice has led to a revival in its fortunes.

In cultivation this plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Similar species

Red-flowered Primula veris plants

It may be confused with the closely related Primula elatior (oxlip) which has a similar general appearance and habitat, although the oxlip has larger, pale yellow flowers more like a primrose, and a corolla tube without folds.

Chemical constituents

Primula veris contains glycosides, primeverin, primulaverin and the saponin primula acid A. It can have irritant effects in those who are allergic to it.

The subspecies macrocalyx, growing in Siberia, contains the phenolic compound riccardin C.

Cuisine

Cowslip leaves have been traditionally used in Spanish cooking as a salad green. Uses in English cookery include using the flowers to flavour country wine and vinegars; sugaring to be a sweet or eaten as part of a composed salad while the juice of the cowslip is used to prepare tansy for frying. The close cousin of the cowslip, the primrose P. vulgaris has often been confused with the cowslip and its uses in cuisine are similar with the addition of its flowers being used as a colouring agent in desserts.

References

• Davidson, Alan. Oxford Companion to Food (1999), "Cowslip". p. 221 ISBN 0-19-211579-0

External links

• Charles Darwin on Primula hybrids, including cowslips and oxlips Accessed 8 May 2007
• Image of yellow and red-flowered cowslips growing on a farm in Gloucestershire, England Accessed 8 May 2007
•  "Cowslip". Encyclopedia Americana. 1920. 
•  "Cowslip". Collier's New Encyclopedia. 1921.