cowslip vs primrose

cowslip

noun
  • A low-growing plant, Primula veris, with yellow flowers. 

  • Primula deorum, a flowering plant known as God's cowslip and rila cowslip 

  • Primula florindae, a flowering plant known as giant cowslip and Tibetan cowslip 

  • marsh marigold, Caltha palustris, a plant in the buttercup family, growing in wet, boggy locations. 

  • Pulmonaria angustifolia, blue cowslip or narrow-leaved lungwort 

  • Primula sikkimensis, a flowering plant known as Himalayan cowslip and Sikkim cowslip 

primrose

noun
  • A flowering plant of the genus Primula. 

  • A flower of a primrose plant. 

  • A light yellow colour. 

  • Specifically, the species Primula acaulis (syn. Primula vulgaris), also called common primrose. 

  • A plant of the family Primulaceae. 

  • A plant of the genus Oenothera, better known as an evening primrose. 

adj
  • Of a light yellow colour. 

verb
  • To pick primroses. 

How often have the words cowslip and primrose occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )