Androsace vitaliana, Douglasia vitaliana, Frimula vitaliana). Low cushion to mat-forming, to 15cm or more across. Leaves in elongated rosettes, linear, 5-10mm long, green to grey-green, more or less stellate-hairy. Flowers usually sessile, bright yellow, l-2cm across with a somewhat inflated tube 1-1.5cm long, singly from the rosette tips. Abruzzi, Dolomites, Alps, Pyrenees, Sierra Nevada, in screes at 1700-3500m. A variable species with the following five subspecies: primuliflora is much as described above, with acuminate, glabrous or occasionally ciliate leaves. South-eastern Alps. Subsp. canescens has the leaves acute to obtuse, more or less tomentose beneath, glabrous above and flowers up to 1.8cm long. South-western Alps and Pyrenees. Subsp. cinerea is sometimes densely tufted, with acuminate leaves densely pubescent to grey-tomentose above and below; flowers up to 2.2cm long. South-western Alps and Pyrenees. Subsp. assoana is always densely tufted with usually keeled, acuminate, pubescent to grey-downy leaves; flowers up to 1.2cm long. Mountains of south-eastern Spain. Subsp. praetutiana has a loosely mat-forming habit with oblonglanceolate obtuse to rounded-tipped leaves, densely whitish-downy below and on the tips above; flowers to 1.2cm long. Central Apennines. [Pl.540]
