Spring: What to look out for #4

Primroses (Primula vulgaris)

When you next come across primroses take a closer look at the centre of the flower to see whether it is pin-eyed or thrum-eyed.


Primroses (Primula vulgaris) have two varieties Pin-eyed and Thrum-eyed.  In the Pin-eyed variety, the pistil is longer than the stamens.  

In the Thrum-eyed variety the stamens are longer than the pistils meaning that the pollen bearing anthers are visible but the stigma is hidden. The word thrum refers to a threadlike part of a flower, such as the stamens.