Primula russeola I. B. Balf. & Forrest

Herbs perennial, with a long stock formed by overlapping petioles and basal bud scales. Leaves forming a rosette; petiole broadly winged, initially indistinct, slightly longer than leaf blade at end of anthesis; leaf blade elliptic to oblong, sometimes lanceolate to oblanceolate, 5--15 X 1.5--5 cm, abaxially copiously fugacious cream-white farinose, base attenuate, margin finely denticulate and narrowly revolute, apex rounded to obtuse. Scapes (10--)15--30 cm, farinose toward apex; umbels (3--)5--12-flowered; bracts narrowly lanceolate, 1.3--2 cm. Pedicel initially often shorter than bracts, elongating to 4 cm in fruit, white farinose. Flowers heterostylous. Calyx usually blackish purple, tubular-campanulate, 0.9--1.3 cm, copiously white farinose inside and on margin, parted to 2/3 or below; lobes not spreading, oblong-lanceolate, apex obtuse to acute. Corolla deep purplish rose to deep indigo-purple; limb 2--3 cm wide; lobes obovate to suborbicular, margin entire. Pin flowers: corolla tube 1.1--1.3 cm; stamens ca. 5 mm above base of corolla tube; style ca. as long as tube. Thrum flowers: corolla tube 1.3--1.5 cm; stamens toward apex of corolla tube; style 4--5 mm. Capsule cylindric, nearly as long as calyx. Fl. Aug. 2n = 22@.

SW Sichuan, SE Xizang, NW Yunnan

* Wet meadows, rocky streamsides; 3800--4100 m.

Primula ionantha Pax & K. Hoffmann; P. lancifolia Pax & K. Hoffmann.