ABSTRACT
The various species of primula have produced in a state of nature throughout Europe an extraordinary number of hybrid forms. In certain districts of England, the common oxlip a hybrid between the cowslip and the primrose is frequently found, and it occurs occasionally almost everywhere. Owing to the frequency of this intermediate hybrid form, and to the existence of the Bardfield oxli, which resembles to a certain extent the common oxlip, the claim of the three forms to rank as distinct species has been discussed oftener and at greater length than that of almost any other plant. Finally, although we may freely admit that Primula veris, vulgaris, and elatior, as well as all the other species of the genus, are descended from a common primordial form, yet from the facts, we must conclude that these three forms are now as fixed in character as are many others which are universally ranked as true species.
