oxlip

American  

[oks-lip] / ˈɒksˌlɪp /

noun

1. a Eurasian primrose, Primula elatior, having clusters of small yellow flowers on a long stem.

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oxlip British  

/ ˈɒksˌlɪp /

noun

1. Also called: paigle.  a primulaceous Eurasian woodland plant, Primula elatior, with small drooping pale yellow flowers

2. Also called: false oxlip.  a similar and related plant that is a natural hybrid between the cowslip and primrose

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Etymology

Origin of oxlip

First recorded before 1100, spelled oxsanslyppan

Example Sentences

Long-styled oxlip, by pollen of short-styled oxlip: 10 flowers fertilised, did not produce one capsule.

From The Different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species by Darwin, Charles

The only interesting point is the frequency of the production of natural hybrids, i.e. oxlips, and the existence of one kind of oxlip which constitutes a third good and distinct species.

From Alfred Russel Wallace: Letters and Reminiscences, Vol. 1 by Marchant, James

Short-styled cowslip, by pollen of long-styled oxlip: 8 flowers fertilised, produced 8 capsules, containing 58, 38, 31, 44, 23, 26, 37, and 66 seeds.

From The Different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species by Darwin, Charles

Long-styled oxlip, by pollen of short-styled cowslip: 5 flowers fertilised, produced two capsules, containing 21 and 28 very fine seeds.

From The Different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species by Darwin, Charles

Hence these plants are beautifully intermediate between the oxlip and the primrose, inclining rather towards the latter; and we may safely conclude that the parent oxlips had been fertilised by the surrounding primroses.

From The Different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species by Darwin, Charles