Curtis Botanical – Plate 8836 – Cushion Primrose

Original antique black-and-white print from Curtis's Botanical Magazine — Plate 8836.

A tight, cushion-forming Himalayan primula (pulvinata = cushion-shaped) — it grows pressed flat against rocky high-altitude ground, conserving heat in a cushion form that creates its own microclimate. One of many Himalayan primulas that Victorian plant hunters risked their lives to collect, scrambling across mountain passes above 4,000m elevation.

Birth flower: February. Pacific NW rock gardeners and mountain West alpine garden enthusiasts.

Uncolored plate. Condition consistent with age of volume. Each print is a unique piece of botanical history, printed on paper aged over a century.

This plate originated with the Royal Horticultural Society and passed through Wheldon & Wesley, one of the great natural history dealers of the 20th century. We came into the archive by accident and have spent the time since trying to share it as widely as we can.