Primula veris (
cowslip,
common cowslip cowslip primrose;
syn. Primula officinalis Hill) is a
flowering plant in the
genus Primula of the
family Primulaceae. The
species is
native throughout most of temperate Europe and Asia, and although absent from more northerly areas including much of northwest Scotland, it reappears in northernmost Sutherland and Orkney and in Scandinavia. This species frequently hybridizes with other
Primulas such as
Primula vulgaris to form false oxslip (
Primula × polyantha) which is often confused with true oxslip (
Primula elatior), a much rarer plant. Botanists have found at least twenty-five of these hybrid-forms in the Austrian Alps.