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| P. aff odontocalyx: courtesy David Rankin |
Primula
odontocalyx was first described as a variety of P. petiolaris in 1895, but was
then elevated to species status by Pax in 1905. The species was based on Farges971 collected near Tchen-kéou-tin (now Chengkou
county, NE Sichuan). The plant in question came from Wushan county, just
south of Chengkou so the location is a good match. The Flora of China gives the
distribution as S Gansu, W Henan, W Hubei, S Shaanxi, Sichuan, but
not W Yunnan (Mekong Salween divide) where apparently the BASE 9547 P. aff.
odontocalyx was collected. The similar and related species P. euosma is from
that area and the BASE collection may be that species.
The
description of the species says that the large flowers are borne on a scape and
that the calyx has 2-3 teeth on the apex. There are 3 sheets of Farges 971 in
the Paris herbarium, showing 9 plants in total. Most are 2-3 flowered, but vary
from single flowered to 6 flowered.
Though a key characteristic is the calyx teeth, and the species was
named for this feature, not all of the type specimens show this. Some are entire and
undulating. This is a discrepancy noted previously by Smith & Fletcher. The show plant is white flowered but this was a variant in a normal
purple with a white eye flowered population.
The plant
in question spreads vegetatively by short stolons and this feature isn’t seen
on the herbarium specimens nor is it mentioned in the description of P.
odontocalyx, but the material available at the time was limited and the plant was not in cultivation then.
Links to the relevant descriptions, herbarium sheets and more images are available in the species gallery under P. odontocalyx. In general it seems as though the description of the species P. odontocalyx was unfortunately difficient causing uncertainty about this species. There is no doubt in my mind that this plant in question falls within P. odontocalyx.
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