Primulas Rediscovered – P. bullata & P. bracteata

In June-July, 2014 Pam Eveleigh, David & Stella Rankin and Jens Nielsen went to Yunnan, China with the hopes of rediscovering Primula bullata in its type location. Already, in 2012, Jens had located Primula bracteata in its type location and the images he took spurred the three of us to undertake a study of Primula Section Bullatae. This trip would provide necessary field work to that study (Curtis's Bot. Mag., 2014, 31: t. 800.)

In 1883, Père Marie Delavay, a French missionary of Missions Etrangères de Paris (Society of Foreign Missions of Paris), crossed a low mountain range on his way between missions near Er'yuan, in Yunnan Province of China. Delavay had been convinced by botanist Adrien Franchet to collect botanical specimens for the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle in Paris and on this range he found two species of Primula, one of them higher up, P. bullata, and one in a gorge flanking the range, P. bracteata.

Our first task on the trip was to return to P. bracteata in the gorge and this we did, taking many images and making observations. It is quite unlike the plants that have been masquerading under this name in cultivation!

Gorge where P. bracteata is found

Research prior to our trip, lead us to believe that the type location for P. bullata, given as Hée Chan Men (meaning black gate or pass), was near the village of Nan Da Ping, but asking the villagers there turned up no knowledge of the place. It was by chance that we decided to explore the East side of the range while waiting to pick Jens up later at the airport in Dali. I was interested in P. malvacea var. alba which I thought could possibly be there, though I had slim hopes we would find it. We found ourselves up random back roads before deciding to turn back for Jens. Just at that turn around point was a house and nearby, a shepherd. This turned out to be Mr. Lu and he was adamant he knew where the pass was and that he had seen the plants we were looking for, after seeing photographs of P. forrestii, a related species with similar yellow flowers. The next day, we met again with Mr. Lu who took us up muddy roads to the top of the range and eventually a small gap in the pine forest with an outcrop of limestone coming out of the red earth. There we did find P. bullata and photographed it.

Mr. Lu with P. bullata

Hee Chan Men, location for P. bullata

The results of this study are given in this table and images will be updated in the Species Gallery soon.

Original name	Smith & Fletcher, 1946	Flora of China, 1996	Richards, Primula,2002	Eveleigh, Nielsen & Rankin, 2014
bullata	bullata	bullata	bullata	bullata var. bullata
rufa	bullata var. rufa	forrestii	forrestii	bullata var. bullata
forrestii	forrestii	forrestii	forrestii	bullata var. forrestii
redolens	redolens	forrestii	forrestii var. redolens	bullata var. forrestii
ulophylla	bracteata	bracteata	bracteata	bullata var. forrestii
bracteata	bracteata	bracteata	bracteata	bullata var. bracteata
pulvinata	bracteata	bracteata	bracteata	henrici
articulata	henrici	bracteata	henricia	henrici
tapeina	henrici	bracteata	henricia	henrici
pseudobracteata	henrici	bracteata	henricia	henrici
henrici	henrici	bracteata	henricia	henrici
coelata var. stenophylla	henrici	not listed	not listed	henrici
dubernardiana	dubernardiana	bracteata	dubernardiana­b	henrici
monbeigii	dubernardiana	bracteata	dubernardianab	henrici
coelata	bracteata	not listed	not listed	coelata
rockii	rockii	rockii	rockii	rockii

^a Subsequently changed to bracteata subsp. henrici (The Alpine Gardener, 2005, 73: 401-463.)

^­b Subsequently changed to bracteata subsp. dubernardiana.

** New in 2018 is Primula bullata var. delavayi D.W.H.Rankin.

Pam Eveleigh © 2018