Cyclamen graecum

Cyclamen graecum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Primulaceae
Genus:	Cyclamen
Subgenus:	C. subg. Eucosme
Species:	C. graecum
Binomial name
Cyclamen graecum Link (1834)
Subspecies [1]
Cyclamen graecum subsp. candicum Ietsw. Cyclamen graecum subsp. graecum
Synonyms [1]
Cyclaminus graeca(Link) Asch. (1892)

Cyclamen graecum, the Greek cyclamen, ^[2] is a perennial plant in the flowering plant family Primulaceae that grows from a tuber. It is native to southern Greece and Crete, ^[1] and is prized for its variable leaf forms, which include some of the most striking of any cyclamen.

Distribution

Cyclamen graecum is native to a wide variety of areas up to 1,200 m (3,900 ft) elevation in southern mainland Greece, the Peloponnese, Aegean Islands, and Crete. ^[1] It is also found in Cyprus. ^{[3] [4]}

Description

The tuber is corky, with a thick, strong, fleshy anchor, and roots sprouting from the center of the bottom.^{[ citation needed ]}

The leaves are heart-shaped and toothed.^{[ citation needed ]}

The flowers bloom in autumn, with five petals which are white or pink with a darker blotch at the nose. They are often fragrant. The bases of the petals are curled outwards into auricles. After pollination, the flower stem coils in both directions, starting from the center, not from the top as in Cyclamen hederifolium .

Subspecies

Cyclamen graecum has two accepted subspecies, ^[1] distinguished by flower characteristics:

• Cyclamen graecum subsp. candicumIetsw. (synonym Cyclamen pseudograecumHildebr.) – endemic to western and central Crete. ^[5] White or pale pink flowers with more pronounced auricles.
• Cyclamen graecum subsp. graecum (synonyms C. aegineticumHildebr., C. gaidurowryssiiGlasau, C. graecum f. albumR.Frank & E.Frank, C. graecum subsp. mindleri(Heldr.) A.Davis & Govaerts, C. macrophyllumSieber, C. miliarakesiiHeldr. ex Halácsy, C. mindleri(Heldr.) Dyer, C. penteliciHildebr., C. persicum subsp. mindleri(Heldr.) Knuth, C. velutinumJord., Cyclaminos miliarakesiiHeldr. ex R.Knuth, and Cyclaminos mindleriHeldr.) – native to mainland Greece and northwestern Crete. ^[6] Pink flowers with a darker blotch at the nose.
  • Cyclamen graecum subsp. graecum f. album — all-white flowers. Peloponnese and Rhodopou Peninsula of Crete.

The former subspecies Cyclamen graecum subsp. anatolicumIetsw. is now elevated to a separate species, Cyclamen maritimum Hildebr., native to the eastern Aegean Islands (including Rhodes), southwestern and southern Turkey, and northern Cyprus. ^[7] It is characterized by more slender flowers with a smaller blotch and slight auricles. ^[8]

• 
  Greek Cyclamen
  in Kythera
• 
  Cyclamen graecum, Osaka Prefectural Flower Garden

References

1. "Cyclamen graecum Link". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 26 August 2024.
2. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
3. "Cyclamen graecum subsp. anatolicum | Flora of Cyprus — a dynamic checklist". flora-of-cyprus.eu. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
4. Culham, Alastair; Könyves, Kálmán (2014). "The Cyclamen graecum group, how many species?" (PDF). Cyclamen. 38 (2). The Cyclamen Society: 70–76. ISSN   1757-2045 . Retrieved 1 June 2025.
5. "Cyclamen graecum subsp. candicum Ietsw". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 26 August 2024.
6. "Cyclamen graecum subsp. graecum". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 26 August 2024.
7. "Cyclamen maritimum Hildebr". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 26 August 2024.
8. The Cyclamen society - Cyclamen maritimum

External links

• Cyclamen Society
• Cyclamen graecum (Monthly feature article);
• photos of tuber (Bulb Log 31, 30 July 2008) — Scottish Rock Garden Club
• Pacific Bulb Society
• photos — Flickr search
• Gallery of the World's Bulbs — International Bulb Society (photo of tuber)