Primula integrifolia

Perennial of the Primulaceae family, Primula integrifolia is a species of the Alps and the Pyrenees, also present in the Jura and the Western Carpathians. It inhabits short alpine meadows, snow hollows, moist rocks, and wall crevices, on both siliceous and calcareous substrates, at altitudes between approximately 1,800 and 3,000 meters.

It is a very small plant, forming low and tight rosettes, rarely beyond 2 to 5 cm in height excluding flowers. Its most immediately distinctive feature is its foliage with entire or very faintly toothed margins, without the pronounced crenulations usual in alpine primroses — it is precisely this trait that its Latin epithet recalls. The leaves are small, oval, bright green, slightly sticky-glandular.

The flowers are bright pink to magenta pink, solitary or in umbels of two to four flowers, borne on very short stems, barely emerging from the foliage. The petals are deeply notched, giving each flower a characteristic star-like appearance. In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from June to August depending on altitude, often as soon as the snow melts.

In cultivation, it is known to be delicate, requiring a well-drained substrate, cool in summer, and regular but not excessive moisture. It is grown in an alpine trough or in a cool-oriented rock crevice, sheltered from excessive summer heat.