Primula veris, Primula officinalis, SE: Gullviva, DE: Echte Schlüßelblume,
NL: Gulden sleutelbloem, UK: Common cowslip

Scientific name:  Primula veris L.
Synonym name:  Primula officinalis Hill
Swedish name:  Gullviva
German name:  Echte Schlüßelblume
Nederlandse naam:  Gulden sleutelbloem
English name:  Common cowslip
Family:  Primulaceae, Primrose family, Viveväxter

Sweden Flowers, Primula veris, Primula officinalis, Gullviva, Echte Schlüßelblume, Gulden sleutelbloem, Common cowslip

Life form:  Perennial herb
Stems:  Height 15–30 cm; Stem leafless, hairy
Leaves:  Basal rosette of leaves, dentate
Flowers:  Corolla yellow, funnel shaped; calyx bristly, yellowish-greenish, lobes short-tapered, with tips
Flowering Period:  May-June
Fruits:  Capsule, elongated, ovalish, 5-valved, 11–15 mm long; seeds flat, dark, granular
Habitat:  In meadows, grassland and forests on humus soil, and prefers calcareous soils.
Distribution:  Southern and central Sweden

Primula veris, Primula officinalis, Gullviva, Echte Schlüßelblume, Gulden sleutelbloem, Common cowslip


Derivation of the botanical name:
Primula, Latin primus, first and refers to the species bloom early.
veris, Latin word for the season of spring.
  • The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.
  • The standard author abbreviation Hill is used to indicate John Hill (c. 1714 – 1775), English writer and botanist who compiled the first book on British flora to be based on the Linnaean nomenclature.

Flowers in Sweden, Primula veris, Primula officinalis, Gullviva, Echte Schlüßelblume, Gulden sleutelbloem, Common cowslip