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 is an original uncolored (plain) plate from leftover publisher stock of Curtis's Botanical Magazine, printed in London. It was issued uncolored and never bound. We bought the holding at the estate of a Chicago rare bookseller. Labels and stock papers from the British dealer Wheldon & Wesley came with it. Library stamps, when present, are noted on the listing.