Primula diantha Bureau & Franch.

Herbs perennial, lacking basal bud scales and long overlapping stocks, with remains of old leaves at base. Leaves forming a rosette; petiole inconspicuous or nearly as long as leaf blade, narrowly winged and suddenly dilated to a triangular base; leaf blade oblong-spatulate to lanceolate (outer leaves) or narrowly oblanceolate to linear-oblanceolate (inner leaves), 10--50 X 5--10(--18) mm, abaxially white or cream-yellow farinose, base attenuate, margin denticulate to crenulate, often revolute, apex obtuse to rounded. Scapes (1--)2--8(--12) cm, glandular to scarcely farinose toward apex; umbels 2--6(--10)-flowered; bracts often purplish, lanceolate to subulate. Pedicel 3--10 mm, often shorter than bracts at anthesis. Flowers heterostylous. Calyx tubular, 6--10 mm, purplish outside, farinose inside, parted to middle or below; lobes lanceolate to narrowly oblong, apex acute to subobtuse. Corolla bluish purple; tube 1--1.4(--1.6) cm; limb 1.5--2 cm wide; lobes elliptic to obovate-oblong, margin entire to obscurely crenate, apex rounded. Pin flowers: stamens 2.5--3.5 mm above base of corolla tube; style slightly longer than calyx. Thrum flowers with positions reciprocal. Capsule cylindric, longer than calyx. Fl. Jun.

W Sichuan, E Xizang, NW Yunnan.

* Stony meadows, talus slopes in alpine zone; 4000--4800 m.

Primula amabilis I. B. Balfour & Forrest; P. brevicula I. B. Balfour & Forrest; P. calliantha Franchet subsp. kiuchiangensis (I. B. Balfour & Forrest) W. W. Smith & Forrest; P. glacialis Franchet; P. kiuchiangensis I. B. Balfour & Forrest; P. leucops W. W. Smith & Kingdon Ward; P. leucops var. anopa Handel-Mazzetti; P. rigida I. B. Balfour & Forrest.