19th April: Primrose Day

Today is Primrose Day so here are 10 things you may not know about primroses:

1. The Latin name for primrose is Primula vulgaris; "primrose" derives from the Old French or Latin and means "first rose", because it is one of the first flowers to bloom in spring. It is not, however, related to the rose family.
2. It is illegal to pick wild primroses in the UK (Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Section 13, part 1b). This is because so many have been picked that it is now quite rare to find them growing in the wild.
3. The flowers and leaves are edible, and can be made into primrose wine or tea.
4. The primrose was Benjamin Disraeli's favourite flower; Primrose Day and the Primrose League were given their names in honour of this.
5. It was voted the county flower of Devon in 2002.
6. In the language of flowers, the primrose means, I Can't Live Without You. They represented wantonness in England, as expressed in the phrase 'the primrose path of dalliance'.
7. Placing primrose roots in a cask of beer or ale makes the brew stronger.
8. Primroses are sacred to the Goddess because of its 5-petalled flowers, which are said to represent five stages of a woman's life: birth, initiation, consummation, repose and death.
9. They are also held sacred by Druids.
10. Finally, they are seen as "fairy flowers" in some cultures. Eating primroses is supposed to enable people to see fairies, and touching a fairy rock with a primrose posy opens the way to fairyland. Caution is advised, however, as using the wrong number of flowers in the posy leads to certain doom. Five is supposedly the correct number to use.