Panarctic Flora

710104 Primula incana M.E. Jones

• M.E. Jones, Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., ser. 2, 5: 706 (1895). Holotype (POM): U.S.A.: Utah, Tropic, leg. M.E. Jones 5312.

2n= 54 (6x). - Alaska, Canada (NW), U.S.A. (W). - Kelso (1991a, five counts).
Not included (Kelso): A report of 2n = 72 (8x) from U.S.A.: Colorado (Vogelmann 1960). Kelso (1991a) suggested that Vogelmann's octoploid count could be erroneous as she found only hexaploids in the same locality.

Geography: North American: (CAN).

Notes: Korobkov (PAF proposal) accepted Primula incana from the Arctic, based on Porsild and Cody (1980) where it was mapped from several localities along the shores of Hudson Bay. These occurrences are isolated from its main and more western range. They belong either to P. stricta, as suggested by Kelso (in comment below), or to P. laurentiana.

Kelso: I would be extremely dubious about any report of P. incana from arctic Canada - probably these reports refer to P. stricta with which it is easily confused. I have seen one outlier specimen from somewhat near the west side of Hudson Bay where the boreal forest starts to peter out, but otherwise this is a strictly boreal species in the north. I would not consider it part of the Canadian arctic flora at all.

Elven: Primula incana was found in 2003 in large amounts on the river shores at Inuvik in the Mackenzie River Delta (ALA, O). This is well north of the range reported by Porsild and Cody (1980). Inuvik is boreal but close to the treeline. It is very probable that the species follows the river the few kilometres farther downstream to reach the Arctic proper. We have therefore entered it for the Borderline Arctic. McJannet et al. (1993) mapped a plant under this name from the Borderline Arctic on southern Hudson Bay.