Primrose (Primula vulgaris)

What do primroses look like?

Primrose is a small, perennial woodland plant that grows no more than 10cm high and can flower from December through to May.

Leaves: wrinkly with hairy undersides, forming a rosette at the plant’s base.

Flowers: pale to deep yellow with darker yellow-orange centres. The single flowers have five notched petals which form on the ends of upright woolly stalks.

Fruit/seeds: the unripe seed pod, which resembles a ball inside the calyx (the green leaf-like structures that are at the base of the petals), is pale green with soft, green seeds. When ripe it is whitish and its seeds are brown or black and hard.

Not to be confused with: oxlip (Primula elatior) and cowslip (Primula veris) which are both similar species. However, the flowers of oxlip droop to one side in the same direction. Cowslip flowers form in clusters and are usually bell-shaped and a darker orange-yellow. Primrose and cowslip also hybridise to make Primula veris x vulgaris which grows taller than primrose. There are also several cultivated varieties of primrose, some of which have escaped from gardens, which are now found in the wild.