About

Primula vulgaris is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae, native to Eurasia. The common name of this plant is primrose, or occasionally common primrose or English primrose to distinguish it from other Primula species referred to as primroses.

How to grow it

The wild primrose is a staple of cottage garden plantings, and is widely available as seeds or young plants. It grows best in moist but well-drained soil in light shade. It is increased by seed and division. The throat is usually coloured rich yellow.

Primrose breeding of named coloured varieties became popular in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Numerous cultivars have been selected for garden planting, often derived from subsp. sibthorpii or hybrids between the subspecies; these and other garden hybrids are available in a wide range of colours, including white, yellow and red, or brown and red in all gradations as well as dark red, pink, purple, dark brown and dark blue, and with an extended flowering season.

Where it grows

The native range of P. vulgaris encompasses western and southern Europe. In the north, the distribution area extends from central Norway near the Faroe Islands via the British Isles, Denmark, northern Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France to southern Portugal in the south and the tip of North Africa in Algeria. To the east, the range extends through the southern European peninsulas to the Crimea, Balkans, Syria, Turkey, and Armenia.

Uses

Both flowers and leaves are edible, the flavour ranging between mild lettuce and more bitter salad greens. The leaves can be cooked in soup but preferably with other plants because they are sometimes a little strong. The leaves can also be used for tea, and the young flowers can be made into primrose wine. In the past the whole plant and especially the root were considered to have analgesic, anti-spasmodic, diuretic and expectorant properties. It contains small amounts of saponins, and was given for colds.

Other Primula plants

Moonlight Primrose · Auricula · Bulley's Primrose · Buttonhead Primrose · Primula chionantha · Primula cockburniana · Drumstick Primrose · Oxlip · Tibetan Cowslip · Primula frondosa · Japanese primrose · Primula kisoana