Herbs with perfect regular flowers; calyx free from the ovary, usually 5-parted; corolla 5-cleft; stamens as many as the corolla lobes and opposite to them; flowers purple, yellow or white.

Leaves spatulate or oblong, obtuse at the apex, narrowed or somewhat wedge-shaped at the base, tapering into petioles, green, usually white-mealy beneath, at least when young; 1—4 inches long, the margins crenulate-dentate. Flowers umbellate 3—20, on scapes 4—18 inches high; corolla pink or lilac, usually with a yellowish eye, the tube slightly longer than the calyx, the lobes wedge-shaped, notched at the apex, ¼ of an inch or more long.

In swamps and wet meadows in the lower valleys of the eastern slopes of the Rockies not penetrating far into the mountains; flowering in June.

Similar to the preceding species but much smaller. Leaves spatulate or obovate, mostly quite broad; pale green above, more or less mealy beneath, denticulate or repand, obtuse at the apex, narrowed or cuneate at the base, petioled or sessile, ½—1½ inches long, forming a rosette at the base of the scape. Flowers ⅜ of an inch broad or less, umbellate, on a peduncle 1—6 inches high; pale pink or bluish with a conspicuous orange eye; the lobes obcordate; corolla tube yellow, slightly longer than the calyx.

The commonest primrose of the region on wet banks and moist, sandy or gravelly places at the lower altitudes throughout the Rockies; flowering in June, also occurs sparingly in the Selkirks.

Proliferously branched at the base and cæspitose. Leaves folded over each other, forming rosettes at the bases of the many-flowered scapes; from lanceolate to oblong-spatulate or ovate, keeled, 1-nerved, ¼—½ an inch long, acute, fringed with hairs on the margins. Flowers ¼ of an inch or more broad, cream-coloured with a brilliant yellow eye; 4—10 in a close umbel, on slender hairy scapes 1—3 inches high; flowers delicately fragrant.

Throughout the Rockies in open situations either dry or moist, and at low or high altitudes; flowering from early June to midsummer according to the altitude.

Almost smooth, leaves lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, narrowed at the base, from irregularly denticulate to laciniate-toothed. Flowers small, little more than ⅛ of an inch broad, white with yellow centre, in spreading umbels; peduncles 2—10 inches high.

In open places and on grassy banks at the lower altitudes throughout the Rockies; flowering in May and early June.

More or less hairy. Leaves rosulate, oblanceolate to spatulate or nearly linear, ½—1½ inches long, obtuse or acute, sharply serrate above the middle or sparingly toothed. Scapes erect and spreading, often diffusely branched at the base, 2—4 inches long; pedicels thread-like from ½—3 inches long in the same umbel. Flowers white or pink, the corolla included or sometimes equalling the tips of the calyx segments.

On grassy banks and slopes in the Rockies flowering in June.

Stems slender, 1—4 inches high, with small scattered obovate leaves below; upper leaves obovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, obtuse, 1—1½ inches long. Flowers white on slender pedicels as long as the leaves; calyx reddish with 7 narrowly linear acute sepals; petals 7 white, lanceolate, acute, about twice the length of the sepals; stamens 7.

In moist woods throughout the region, rare in the Rockies but common throughout the Selkirks; flowering in June.

Smooth. Leaves dark green, lanceolate, acute, entire, 2—3 inches long. Flowers few in an umbel; scape 6—8 inches tall; segments of the corolla rich lilac purple, the undivided part yellow with a narrow scalloped ring, midway between the base of the segments and the stamen tube; stamen tube often nearly as long as the anthers, yellow; anthers purple.

In damp, open ground and grassy slopes throughout the eastern Rockies; flowering in June.

Plant smooth. Leaves obovoid and elliptic, 2—5 inches long, including the distinct petiole, obtuse, entire. Flowers large, in a few-flowered umbel, scape 3—8 inches high; corolla deep purple varying to rose-red; anthers, distinct, obtuse, the connective lanceolate, acuminate to a linear point.

In the open ground and plains in the lower Valleys of the Rockies; flowering in June.