The Common Primrose

The Common Primrose
by Penelope Harrison

Many erudite articles have been written about rare and difficult primulas; here are some thoughts concerning the common primrose, Primula vulgaris (Hudson, Fl. Anglica: 1762); Primula = “early blooming”, vulgaris = “common”.

Primula vulgaris is one of the best known and most loved of the wild flowers found in the British Isles. The first blooms in early spring (February and March) herald the arrival of warmer days to come. The common primrose is usually found in open woodland, occasionally on grassy banks, mostly in heavy soils. The plants love dappled shade provided by deciduous trees and shrubs. They do not appear to appreciate pine coniferous composts, even when used as mulches, possibly because coniferous composts and leaf molds are too sterile due to the naturally occurring insecticides found in the resinous barks and needles. Such sterile conditions prevent infestations of the flora and fauna usually abundant in deciduous leaf molds. The primroses appear to have a symbiotic relationship with this flora and fauna and do not thrive if it is not present. Plenty of farmyard manure and well-rotted garden compost will usually encourage these soil dwelling life-forms, though, and if the soil is right for the primroses, shade or lack of it is less critical. [Ed.’s note: Primroses thrive on the breakdown products of decomposition. They may prefer deciduous leaf mold because it breaks down faster than pine/coniferous leaf mold that may lack sufficient nitrogen when not fully decomposed.]

The common primrose is locally abundant, but is becoming rare in some areas due to over-picking and also destruction of its natural habitat. It has been picked for culinary and medicinal use since very early times, with accounts from various herbalists concerning its uses. The leaves were once boiled as “greens” - Leonardo da Vinci is quoted as stating they “are very appetizing but not very digestible”. He suggested their use for bladder stones; Culpepper recommended the boiled leaves be made into a “wound salve” (ointment), while Gerard suggested they could cure a “phrenzie”. Modern uses are as an expectorant for bronchitis, using the dried root stock, and as a mild sedative using a tisane made from fresh flowering plants. The flowers can be candied and used as cake and sweet decorations. A word of caution: some people are allergic to all Primulaceae. The most noticeable

reaction is a form of dermatitis from the primin in the plant tissues. Ingestion of primula parts by sensitized individuals will similarly cause an allergic reaction.
The wild primrose has a delicate pale yellow single flower that has occasionally
spontaneously mutated to give several distinct forms and flower colors. Some of these forms make good garden-worthy plants and most are reasonably easy to acquire. ‘Garryard’ forms, strictly speaking, are a polyanthus type but some have single stems. The most frequently seen form is ‘Guinevere’, deep apple blossom pink single flowers with bronzed reddish stems and leaves. These first occurred in Garryard, County Kildare, and are propagated by division. The plant itself needs to be split every two or three years, ideally after flowering.

A great curiosity, known since the 16th century, is ‘Viridis’ - the Green Primrose. The petals are a delicate lime green, either leaf-like in texture or a typical flower petal. They may also be either single or double. This plant is incredibly rare and presumably expensive if you can find anyone willing to sell you a piece.
Other double forms have appeared in the wild from time to time and have made good garden plants. Easily acquired ones are ‘Sue Jervis’, a delicate salmon pink; ‘Elizabeth Dickey’, a clear yellow double from Northern Ireland; the old ‘Lilacina Plena’ (Double Lilac or Quaker’s Bonnet) a delicate lavender-lilac; and the old ‘Alba Plena’ (Double White or Gerard’s Double White). These last two are delightful plants marred only by their thin flower stalks, whose double flowers usually end up face down in the dirt. There are a number of modern hybrids that have been micro-propagated for the mass market. They are perfectly useful and pleasant plants, but they can repay this treatment by over-lush growth and flowering themselves to death. They are not always frost-hardy, nor do they appreciate extremes of temperature and availability of ground-moisture.

A very sturdy and highly recommended plant is the double “Jack” called ‘Dawn Ansell’, that can flower on and off all year and laughs at snow, hail, gales and heavy rain. “Jacks” are part of a group of plants with mutated parts that were first noted in the Middle Ages and whose common names reflect fashions and beliefs of that time. Jack-in-the Green commemorates a pagan fertility symbol that was Christianized about then, a face in a circlet of leaves, variously known as Jack-in-the-Green or The Green Man. The symbol was frequently used as a “boss” on the vaulted roof of a church and has persisted to the present day as a Public House name. Early gardeners of whatever religious persuasion thought the flower in a circle of leaves - the mutated calyx - looked similar to this symbol, and gave the plant the same name. Jack-on-Horseback or Jackanapes-on-Horseback has a tuft of leaves halfway down the stem, polyanthus style. This name, also related to pagan symbols, commemorates the Green Man of the Forest, Hermes the Hunter. “Jacks” make very good garden-worthy plants, being sturdy and frost-hardy; some are easily acquired, others are not. The other, most often seen form is the Hose-in-Hose, where one flower emerges from the center of another, a sort of semi-detached double. Its common name came from the fashion for (men) wearing two pairs of stockings (hose), one full length to the groin, the other ending at the knee. These were often kept up (at the knee) by a rosette decorated garter, perhaps the original “Gallygaskin”, but no one is sure.

Growing the common primrose can lead onto other paths - many growers collect old or modern prints and paintings of their favorite flowers. Others paint their own or do their own photography. Some growers research the background of the plant with all the forms documented, and as can be seen, sometimes this background is quite unusual. I hope that some of you reading this may be tempted to try the common primrose - the “prime flower” of the Middle Ages which was praised as “the fairest and the best”.

Photo Credit: Robert Tonkin of a plant grown and in the garden of Cheri Fluck