In article ,
philgurr wrote:

Bob, all our native Primula species (with the exception of P. scotica)
will readily hybridise with polyanthus. ...
... It is thought that the native oxlip was originally a hybrid
between primrose and cowslip.

No, that's not quite right. Yes, they will all hybridise, and are
fairly promiscuous even in the wild, so that one can argue that they
are really only subspecies. My primulas started as polyanthus, and
have bred themselves back to something very similar to cowslip
(probably over 70+ years). But there are TWO 'oxlips' in the UK:
the false oxlip, which is a stable hybrid, and the true oxlip,
which is as separate as either primrose or cowslip.

So the modern understanding is that we don't have a clue! Of course,
as usual, most of the taxonomists are sure that they know, but they
aren't all sure of the same thing ....


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.