Primrose   -   Primula vulgaris  

This is another wild flower that, although trditionally first seen in March, you might well find in February now. The name 'Primrose' comes from two Latin words, and means 'prima rosa', the first rose, referring to its early appearance. The Primrose's species name, vulgaris, means 'common', and it was once much more numerous than it is today. 

Primroses have a clever way of avoiding self-pollination, and there are actually two distinct types of Primrose flower. It has a special arrangement in terms of the positioning of the male parts of the flower (the anthers) and the female parts (the stigma and style)  -  there are two different forms with differing structures. One type, called the Pin-eyed, which you can see above, has a long stigma in the centre, and pollen-producing anthers hidden away at the bottom of the flower's 'throat'. The thrum-eyed plant has the opposite arrangement, with anthers visible at the base of the petals, and the style hidden.

This arrangement means that an insect will pick up pollen from one type of flower, but can not deposit pollen of flowers of the same design on the same plant. Then, when it visits a plant with flowers of the opposite design, pollen will be deposited and self-fertiliaztion will have been avoided.