Cusick's primrose
Primula cusickiana (A.Gray) A.Gray
Cusick’s primrose occupies small moist places within landscapes that can otherwise look dry. Its leaves form low rosettes, and the flowering stalk begins short before lengthening to stand above them. Flora of North America notes that plants in consistently moist sites grow more robustly than those with only temporary moisture. Flora of North America treatment via Southern Rocky Mountain Herbaria: Primula cusickiana
Botanical name
Kew accepts Primula cusickiana (A.Gray) A.Gray in a narrow Oregon–Idaho–Nevada sense. The Flora of North America account of var. cusickiana supplies the matching regional description. Kew POWO: Primula cusickianaFlora of North America treatment via Southern Rocky Mountain Herbaria: Primula cusickiana
Recognizing the plant
The thick, smooth leaves are narrowly to broadly lance-shaped or almost oblong, with nearly entire margins. Flowers are violet to magenta, with a yellow eye described in the Bureau of Land Management’s Idaho field guide. Each flower has a tube ending in a spreading, notched-lobed face. The guide records a few flowers on each stalk and leaf rosettes usually lying close to the ground. Flora of North America treatment via Southern Rocky Mountain Herbaria: Primula cusickianaBLM: Sensitive Plants of the Jarbidge Resource Area, 2006
Bloom window
Jarbidge region and adjacent Idaho–Nevada area
The BLM field guide gives a flowering period from late February to June. BLM: Sensitive Plants of the Jarbidge Resource Area, 2006
Native range
The current Kew range extends from southeastern Oregon to Idaho and northern Nevada. In this region, plants grow in moist swales among sagebrush and grasses. The Jarbidge field guide also records small damp openings within mountain-mahogany thickets on steep slopes. Kew POWO: Primula cusickianaFlora of North America treatment via Southern Rocky Mountain Herbaria: Primula cusickianaBLM: Sensitive Plants of the Jarbidge Resource Area, 2006
Botanical sources
- Kew POWO: Primula cusickiana
- Flora of North America treatment via Southern Rocky Mountain Herbaria: Primula cusickiana
- BLM: Sensitive Plants of the Jarbidge Resource Area, 2006
Reviewed 2026-10-11. Seasonal development varies with location and growing conditions.