Primula elatior
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Through Species, Flowering plant and Native species
Description
The oxlip is a herbaceous or semi-evergreen perennial plant growing to 30 cm (12 in) tall by 25 cm (10 in) broad, with a rosette of leaves 5–15 cm long and 2–6 cm broad. It produces light yellow flowers in spring, in clusters of 10-30 together on a single stem 10–30 cm (4–12 in) tall, each flower 9–15 mm broad.
It may be confused with the closely related cowslip (Primula veris), which has a similar general appearance, although P. veris has smaller, bell-shaped, bright yellow flowers (and red dots inside the flower), and a corolla tube without folds. The leaves of P. veris are more spade-shaped than P. elatior.
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Names
The specific epithet elatior means "taller". The common name "oxlip", from "ox" and "slip", may refer to the fact that oxlips (and cowslips) are often found in a boggy pasture used by cattle.
Cultivation
Primula elatior is cultivated as a garden plant. It may be used as bedding, grown from seed as a biennial, and discarded after flowering. It may be used in informal settings such as wildflower meadows. It prefers a sheltered position in full sun with moist soil. It has won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
County flower
The oxlip was voted the County flower of Suffolk in 2002 following a poll by the wild plant conservation charity Plantlife.