text: Conservation The plant suffered a decline due to changing agricultural practices throughout the 1970s and 1980s in Britain. It may therefore be rare locally, though where found it may be abundant. Additionally the seeds are now often included in wildflower seed mixes used to landscape motorway banks and similar civil engineering earthworks where the plants may be seen in dense stands. This practice has led to a revival in its fortunes.
  Cultivation
  In cultivation this plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
  Similar species
  The cowslip may be confused with the closely related Primula elatior (oxlip) which has a similar general appearance and habitat, although the oxlip has larger, pale yellow flowers more like a primrose, and a corolla tube without folds.
  Chemical constituents
  The roots of Primula veris contain several glycosides of 5-methoxysalicylic methyl ester, such as primeverin and primulaverin. In the crude dried root, their phenolic aglycones are responsible for the typical odour reminiscent of methyl salicylate or anethole. The dried roots contain significant amounts of triterpene saponins, such as primula acid I/II, while in the flower these constituents are located in the sepals, and the dominating constituents are flavonoids. Rare side effects of the saponins can be nausea or diarrhoea while some of the phenolic constituents are possibly responsible for allergic reactions.
  The subspecies macrocalyx, growing in Siberia, contains the phenolic compound riccardin C.