Primula mistassinica
 
Dwarf Primrose

Inflorescence Top

Fir River Road, West of Hudson Bay
12-June-2014

Both Budd's Flora and Flora of Alberta distinguish this species from P. stricta.  However, V. Harms in Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Saskatchewan lists P. stricta as an excluded taxa which has never been found in Saskatchewan.  Putative specimens of P. stricta collected from Saskatchewan were considered misidentified.  In addition, the range for P. stricta in Flora of North American includes Manitoba but does not include Saskatchewan and Alberta.  Therefore I am identifying the species in this photo as P. mistassinica and have removed all answers dealing with P. stricta from the list below.

bullet

Mistassinica: Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora and Flora of Alberta leading to this species. 
bullet

leaves petioled or merely narrowed to base; NOT [leaves with long slender petioles]

bullet

leaves mostly dentate or crenate; NOT [leaves entire or undulate]

bullet

leaves green on both sides; NOT [leaves with sulfur yellow mealiness on undersides] (BF)

bullet

leaves often farinose beneath (FOA)

bullet

flowers larger; NOT [flowers less than 1 cm across] (BF)

bullet

limb of corolla 5-20 mm across; NOT [limb of corolla 5-9 mm across] (FOA)

bullet

lobes of corolla 3-7 mm broad; NOT [lobes of corolla 1.6-4 mm broad] (FOA)

bullet

mature capsule thick-cylindric to ellipsoid-ovoid; NOT [mature capsule slender-cylindric, tapering at apex, much exceeding the shallow-lobed calyx]

 

bullet

Primula: Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora and Flora of Alberta leading to this genus. 
bullet

perennials; NOT [annuals]

bullet

plant scapose, with a rosette of leaves; NOT [leaves all or chiefly cauline], NOT [plant matted, with a branching, slightly woody, caudex; leaves small, clustered at the ends of short branches of the caudex]

bullet

flowers in terminal umbels of few to many flowers; NOT [flowers solitary or 1-3 on a peduncle, 1-3 cm high]

bullet

sepals not reflexed

bullet

corolla present; NOT [corolla absent]

bullet

corolla tube equalling or longer than the calyx; NOT [corolla tube mostly shorter than the calyx]

bullet

corolla-lobes erect or spreading; NOT [corolla-lobes sharply reflexed]

bullet

corolla lilac or pinkish; NOT [corolla white]

bullet

stamens separate; NOT [stamens more or less united, the anthers connivent around the style]

bullet

style slender; NOT [style minute]

 

bullet

Primulaceae: Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora  leading to this family. 
bullet

herbs; NOT [shrubs or trees]

bullet

plants green or with some chlorophyll; NOT [plants parasitic or saprophytic, without chlorophyll]

bullet

plants without milky juice

bullet

plants not twining

bullet

flowers not in heads or spikes; NOT [flowers in long or short spikes], NOT [flowers in heads or in form resembling a head]

bullet

flowers with two floral rings

bullet

corolla regular; NOT [corolla irregular]

bullet

petals wholly or partly united forming a tube or bell

bullet

stamens directly in front of corolla lobes; NOT [stamens alternating with corolla lobes, or twice their number]

bullet

ovary superior; NOT [ovary inferior]