On the Species of the Genus Primula in Essex. 203
of those folds or boxes in the neck of the corolla which are
present in all the other species and hybrids. Mr. H. C.
Watson, writing in the 'Phytologist' for May, 1844 (vol. i.,
p. 1001), says:—"I am induced to point out a character of
the Bardfield Oxlip (P. elatior, Jacq.), which will probably
afford a certain distinction between it and the spurious
Oxlips. In the Primrose and the Cowslip, and all their
varieties, a circle of scale-like folds60 surrounds the orifice of
the tube of the corolla. These folds are absent from P.
elatior." Mr. Darwin quotes Henry Doubleday to the effect
that P. elatior is a true species, having been cultivated for a
quarter of a century without change. To this I can only give
testimony that I have seen many thousands of capsules,
every one of which seemed to be producing its full com-
plement of seed, and I have never seen anything leading me
to believe that it was a hybrid or a spurious species. On the
contrary (with the exception of those "varieties" which I
have already treated of, most of which seem to be due
entirely to "stimulation," and which would be better termed
monstrosities), I can say with perfect confidence that the
features of the plant are almost absolutely constant when not
hybridized, never varying materially either towards the
Primrose or the Cowslip. I have seldom seen a specimen
respecting which I have had a moment's doubt, and I say
this after an examination of an enormous number of plants
during the last seven years. It is perfectly true that the
shape of the leaves, the size of the umbels and of the flowers,
and the colour of the latter vary a little, but these generally
accompany the varying sizes of the plants, which are again
regulated by the favourable or unfavourable situations in
which they grow.
Mr. Bentall, writing in the 'Phytologist' on April 16th,
1846, says:—" In this locality (Grinstead Green) P. elatior
is accompanied by a profusion of P. vulgaris, and, where the
two plants are growing intermixed, I have observed specimens
which I have no hesitation in pronouncing to be hybrids
50 This word was printed as "glands," but in vol. ii., p. 527, Mr. Watson
points out the misprint.