Discussion

English Primrose (Primula vulgaris)

Our painting subject this week is commonly called just primrose, but sometimes it is called the common primrose, English primrose, or primula. It should not be confused with Oenothera biennis which has several common names including evening primrose, common evening-primrose, and others. That is a totally different plant,

This primrose (P. vulgaris) is our painting subject.

Primroses are perennials, and the leaves are mostly evergreen, As can be seen from the photo below, the leaves form a rosette where they emerge from the base. Leaves range from 2 to 10 inches long and up to 2½ inches wide. 

Bunches of blossoms grow on P. vulgaris primroses on top of stems that are 6 to 8 inches long. Primrose blossoms were originally yellow, but wide cultivation in the 19th and early 20th centuries have produced a range of colors, but the core is always yellow.

The photos below show the growth stages of primrose blossoms, starting with a bud in a spiral pattern.

Primroses are hermaphrodites; i.e., the blossoms have both male and female sex organs. At some point in its development, the primrose plant decides which sex is to be dominant. From then on, all blossoms on that plant will have the same sex. The organ for the inferior sex will be very small and so far recessed in the body of the blossom as to be practically invisible while the dominant organ is presented to the world.

You may have to look closely at the photos above to see the difference, but the female stigma, the platform that receives pollen, looks like a dot. The yellow stuff at the center of the male blossom is a compact mass of stamens.

It isn't certain who the pollinators of primroses are, but they are known to be visited by a variety of insects like butterflies, beetles, and flies. Bumble bees are suspects, too.

Eventually, seed pods or capsules develop.  These are still immature.

Seeds are the result when the capsules do mature.

Artwork

Kubo Shunman (1757 – 1820)

An orphan, Shunman studied art with a poet, scholar, and artist in a Chinese style of painting. He produced book illustrations, paintings, illustrated novels, poetry and ukiyo-e. This interesting still life was produced sometime in the 1810s.

Hiroshige II (1826 – 1869)

Hiroshige II's birth name was Suzuki Chinpei. He became a student of Utagawa Hiroshige's, and when his master died, he adopted the Hiroshige name for his own. His painting style was so similar to Hiroshige's that scholars have a hard time telling them apart. Later in life, he used other artist names.  One of his ukiyo-e print series was called 35 selected flowers. This print titled Primrose at Todahara in Tokyo (1866) is one of them.