Androsace Vitaliana primuliflora and it’s Other Names
How do flies smell? Not as nice as these flowers I be bound!
This rock plant is a prostrate, evergreen perennial. The leaves are small, grey-green in appearance often enhanced by fine hairs. In spring the scented, stemless flowers are buttercup-yellow which can smother the plant.
This fly found the scent on the open flowers much to his liking.
Naming The Plant
- Androsace vitaliana, may now be the official name although I still call it Vitaliana primulifolia.
- Historically it has been placed in various genera, including Androsace, Douglasia, Gregoria and Primula.
- The prickly-appearing foliage is certainly reminiscent of a Douglasia, although the flowers are primula-like.
- It is a member of the primula family and was once known as the “Golden Primrose.â€
Tips and Other Information
- Vitaliana is ideal for troughs, crevice gardens and the rockery.
- It is propagated by cutting as seed is hard to obtain from cultivated plants.
- Ottawa Valley Rock Garden Society has a good descriptive page on this worthwhile and hardy plant.
- In the wild it grows on volcanic scree in the Alps, Pyrenees and Dolomites.
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