Dionysus was the son of Zeus and the Greek god of fertility and wine.
The Greeks need all the help they can get at the moment. Lending one of their gods to the name of these small cushion plants is a form of reciprocation I suppose.

Dionysia Background to the Plants

• The plant genus Dionysia has around 50 known species
• Dionysia are found in the high mountains of Iran and Afganistan.
• Dionysia species grow on limestone under overhanging rocks or in crevices.
• Plants prefer to face south to encourage flowering.
• Dionysia is in the family Primulaceae.

Study More Background on Dionysia

• Dionysia curviflore tapetodes a species covered on Gardeners tips
• There are lots of photographs on Dionysia 4 You
• The Genus Dionysia, written by Chris Grey-Wilson and published by the Alpine garden society.
• According to Kew ‘One way that alpine plants and Dionysia can cope with their harsh mountain environment is to form a low mound or cushion, hugging the stony ground or clinging to cliffs’
• The Plant List details 66 scientific plant names of species rank for the genus Dionysia. Of these 54 are accepted species names by WCSP the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families.

Dionysia are not easy to grow well but the mass of flower is very rewarding if you get the conditions just right.

Dionysia curviflora x tapetodes by Kew on Flickr CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Dionysia curviflore tapetodes & other Dionysia