PLANT: Rhizomatous, somewhat fleshy perennials, 3-30 cm tall with upright or ascending stems.

LEAVES: cauline, generally alternate on the upper portion of the stem and opposite near the base of the stem, 5-25 mm long, sessile; blade oval to oblong or oblanceolate, glabrous, the margins entire.

INFLORESCENCE: a single sessile flower in the axils of leaves.

FLOWERS: white to pinkish; calyx 4-5 mm long, lobed ca. ½ its length, the lobes 5; corolla lacking; stamens 5; ovary superior.

FRUITS: valvate.

NOTES: A monotypic genus widespread in arctic and temperate regions of N. Amer. and Eur. (Greek: bluish-green, in reference to the plant's color).

REFERENCES: Cholewa Anita F. 1992. Primulaceae. Ariz.-Nev. Acad. Sci. 26(1)2.

Cal campanulate, petaloid, cleft to below the middle into 5 oblong-obovate, ±spreading, obtuse, persistent lobes; cor none; stamens hypogynous, shorter than the cal and alternate with its lobes; capsule broadly ovoid, 5-valved, somewhat beaked, few-seeded; small, succulent, glabrous perennial herbs with opposite, sessile lvs and axillary, subsessile, white to red fls. Monospecific.

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

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