| (1) | Perdita. | Bold Oxlips, and
The Crown Imperial. | | Winter's Tale, act iv, sc. 4 (125). | | | (2) | Oberon. | I know a bank where the wild Thyme blows,
Where Oxlips and the nodding Violet grows. | | Midsummer Night's Dream, act ii, sc. 1 (249). | | | (3) | | Oxlips in their cradles growing. | | Two Noble Kinsmen, Intro. song. | The true Oxlip (Primula eliator) is so like both the Primrose and Cowslip that it has been by many supposed to be a hybrid between the two. Sir Joseph Hooker, however, considers it a true species. It is a handsome plant, but it is probably not the "bold Oxlip" of Shakespeare, or the plant which is such a favourite in cottage gardens. The true Oxlip (P. elatior of Jacquin) is an eastern counties' plant; while the common forms of the Oxlip are hybrids between the Cowslip and Primrose. (See Cowslip and Primrose.)
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