Cyclamen
Cyclamen is a genus of 20 species of flowering plants. It is in the Myrsinaceae family. The genus is most widely known by its scientific name Cyclamen. It may also be called Persian violet (it is not related to the violets), or primrose (neither is it a primrose). This is because Cyclamen has been part of the Primulaceae families.
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| Cyclamen persicum growing in a pot | |
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| Genus: | Cyclamen |
Cyclamen come from the Mediterranean, from Spain to Iran. They are also found from northeast Africa to Somalia. They are perennial herbaceous aestivating plants, with a surface or underground tuber (derived from the hypocotyl) 4-12 cm diameter, which produces leaves in late winter, and flowers in the autumn; the leaves die down during the hottest part of the Mediterranean summer drought to save water. Each leaf or flower grows on its own stem, which shoots up from the hypocotyl. The variegation is thought by some botanists to be a form of natural disruptive camouflage to reduce grazing damage by animals.
The hypocotyl grows leaves and flowers on stems, either one flower or one leaf per stem. The stem for leaves and flowers appears identical except in height. The leaves grow on stems of around 6 cm height.
Species
Here are the species of this genus:
- Cyclamen africanum
- Cyclamen alpinum
- Cyclamen balearicum
- Cyclamen cilicium
- Cyclamen colchicum
- Cyclamen coum
- Cyclamen creticum
- Cyclamen cyprium
- Cyclamen elegans
- Cyclamen graecum
- Cyclamen hederifolium
- Cyclamen intaminatum
- Cyclamen libanoticum
- Cyclamen mirabile
- Cyclamen parviflorum
- Cyclamen peloponnesiacumum
- Cyclamen persicum
- Cyclamen pseudibericum
- Cyclamen purpurascens
- Cyclamen repandum
- Cyclamen rohlfsianum
- Cyclamen somalense
Bibliography
- Sundberg, M. D. 1982 Petal-stamen initiation in the genus Cyclamen (Primulaceae). American Journal of Botany 69: 1707–1709
Cyclamen Media
Tuber and roots in genus cyclamen
A tuber of Cyclamen purpurascens with three floral trunks
On left C. persicum (without auricles); on right C. hederifolium (with auricles)
Cyclamen persicum 'Stirling', a cultivar
