A perennial herb (family Primulaceae) up to 40 cm tall, with a basal rosette of leaves and typically pale yellow flowers in two forms, an individual plant bearing only pin or thrum forms, the names referring to the relative positions of the anthers and styles. Primroses flower early in the year, hence the name derived from the Latin prima rosa, ‘first rose’. It occurs naturally throughout Europe, the Near East, and north-western Africa, and is widely cultivated elsewhere.