Cyclamen purpurascens

Last updated

Cyclamen purpurascens
Cyclamen purpurascens Orchi 01.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Primulaceae
Genus: Cyclamen
Subgenus: C. subg. Cyclamen
Species:
C. purpurascens
Binomial name
Cyclamen purpurascens
Synonyms
  • Cyclamen europaeum L.

Cyclamen purpurascens, the purple cyclamen, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Cyclamen of the family Primulaceae, native to central Europe, northern Italy, and former Yugoslavia. It is an evergreen tuberous perennial with (usually) variegated leaves, and deep pink flowers in summer. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Etymology

The species name purpurāscēns is a present participle from the Latin verb purpurāscō "become purple". [4]

Distribution

Cyclamen purpurascens grows in deciduous or mixed woodland, especially among beeches and over limestone, at 250–1,300 m (800–4,300 ft) above sea level in continental Europe from eastern France across the Alps to Poland and south to Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is also found in mountainous parts of Romania and western Russia, where it has been introduced.

Description

C. purpurascens blooms from summer to autumn, keeps its leaves through the winter, and produces seeds and new leaves the next summer.

Tuber

Flowers and leaves come from buds at the top of a round-flattened tuber. Roots come from the sides and bottom. Older tubers may become distorted, forming "fingers" with separate growth points. [5] Misshapen tubers are also found in Cyclamen rohlfsianum .

Flowers

Flowers appear before or with the leaves, and have 5 upswept petals. Flowers are sweetly scented, ranging in color from pale rose-pink to purple or rose-carmine and are 17 to 25 mm (0.67 to 0.98 in) long. Petals are elliptical and twisted, often curled into auricles, although less prominent than those of Cyclamen hederifolium . Forma "album" has white flowers, though it is more difficult to establish. 'Lake Garda' has silver leaves and pink flowers. [1]

Leaves

Leaves are kidney-shaped to heart-shaped, as wide as long or wider. The leaf edge is smooth or slightly toothed, unlike the closely related species Cyclamen colchicum , which is always prominently toothed. Leaf color varies from all-green to all-silver, but the most common pattern is green with light green to silver marbling that roughly follows the outline of the leaf. The underside is red-purple. Because of the cool and moist climate in the plant's native range, it is almost evergreen: new leaves appear in summer while the old leaves are fading. All other cyclamens, except for the closely related Cyclamen colchicum, are summer-dormant in their native range.

Fruit

After fertilization, the flower stem coils tightly, starting at the end. Seeds, amber when ripe, are held in a round pod, which ripens the summer a year after flowering and opens by 5-10 flaps.

Subdivisions

Flower forms

Cyclamen purpurascens has three naturally occurring forms, distinguished by flower color:

Leaf forms

Plain leaf

Plain leaf forms have all-green leaves. A distinct plain-leaf form is the Fatra form, also called Cyclamen fatrense (misspelled fatranse), from the Fatra Mountains in Slovakia, which has plain leaves (either matt or shiny) and larger and more abundant flowers.

Silver leaf

Plants of the Silver Leaf Group have silver on the leaves. Subtypes include the Lake Bled form (silver with a netted pattern of veins near the margin), selected from plants near Lake Bled in the Julian Alps of Slovenia, and the Limone or Lake Garda form (silver with a very thin green border and gray arrowhead pattern in the center), selected from plants near Limone sul Garda near Lake Garda in Italy.

Other leaf patterns in the Lake Garda area include dark green with silver or lighter green marbling and plain green. [6]

Cultivars

The cultivated variety 'Green Ice', developed by Jan Bravenboer of Green Ice Nursery in the Netherlands, has a Christmas tree–shaped silver center and broad green margin. 'Green Lake' is similar, but has a light green zone in the center of the silver. [7]

Related Research Articles

<i>Ficaria verna</i> Species of flowering plant in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae)

Ficaria verna, commonly known as lesser celandine or pilewort, is a low-growing, hairless perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae native to Europe and Western Asia. It has fleshy dark green, heart-shaped leaves and distinctive flowers with bright yellow, glossy petals. It is now introduced in North America, where it is known by the common name fig buttercup and considered an invasive species. The plant is poisonous if ingested raw and potentially fatal to grazing animals and livestock such as horses, cattle, and sheep. For these reasons, several US states have banned the plant or listed it as a noxious weed. It prefers bare, damp ground and is considered by horticulturalists in the United Kingdom as a persistent garden weed; nevertheless, many specialist plantsmen, nursery owners and discerning gardeners in the UK and Europe collect selected cultivars of the plant, including bronze-leaved and double-flowered ones. Emerging in late winter with flowers appearing late February through May in the UK, its appearance across the landscape is regarded by many as a harbinger of spring.

<i>Salvia officinalis</i> Species of plant

Salvia officinalis, the common sage or sage, is a perennial, evergreen subshrub, with woody stems, grayish leaves, and blue to purplish flowers. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae and native to the Mediterranean region, though it has been naturalized in many places throughout the world. It has a long history of medicinal and culinary use, and in modern times it has been used as an ornamental garden plant. The common name "sage" is also used for closely related species and cultivars.

<i>Cyclamen</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae

Cyclamen is a genus of 23 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. In English, it is known by the common names sowbread or swinebread. Cyclamen species are native to Europe and the Mediterranean Basin east to the Caucasus and Iran, with one species in Somalia. They grow from tubers and are valued for their flowers with upswept petals and variably patterned leaves.

<i>Ulmus</i> Purpurea Elm cultivar

The elm cultivar Ulmus 'Purpurea', the purple-leaved elm, was listed and described as Ulmus Stricta Purpurea, the 'Upright Purpled-leaved Elm', by John Frederick Wood, F.H.S., in The Midland Florist and Suburban Horticulturist (1851), as Ulmus purpureaHort. by Wesmael (1863), and as Ulmus campestris var. purpurea, syn. Ulmus purpureaHort. by Petzold and Kirchner in Arboretum Muscaviense (1864). Koch's description followed (1872), the various descriptions appearing to tally. Henry (1913) noted that the Ulmus campestris var. purpureaPetz. & Kirchn. grown at Kew as U. montana var. purpurea was "probably of hybrid origin", Ulmus montana being used at the time both for wych elm cultivars and for some of the U. × hollandica group. His description of Kew's U. montana var. purpurea matches that of the commonly-planted 'Purpurea' of the 20th century. His discussion of it (1913) under U. campestris, however, his name for English Elm, may be the reason why 'Purpurea' is sometimes erroneously called U. procera 'Purpurea' (as in USA and Sweden.

<i>Lamium maculatum</i> Species of plant

Lamium maculatum is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native throughout Europe and temperate Asia.

<i>Cyclamen cyprium</i> Species of flowering plant

Cyclamen cyprium is a perennial growing from a tuber, native to woodland at 300–1,200 m (980–3,940 ft) elevation in the mountains of Cyprus. It is the national flower. Cyclamen persicum and Cyclamen graecum are also found on Cyprus, but are not endemic.

<i>Cyclamen graecum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ornamental bulbous plant</span> Herbaceous perennials with underground storage parts grown for ornamental purposes

Ornamental bulbous plants, often called ornamental bulbs or just bulbs in gardening and horticulture, are herbaceous perennials grown for ornamental purposes, which have underground or near ground storage organs. Botanists distinguish between true bulbs, corms, rhizomes, tubers and tuberous roots, any of which may be termed "bulbs" in horticulture. Bulb species usually lose their upper parts during adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat or winter cold. The bulb's storage organs contain moisture and nutrients that are used to survive these adverse conditions in a dormant state. When conditions become favourable the reserves sustain a new growth cycle. In addition, bulbs permit vegetative or asexual multiplication in these species. Ornamental bulbs are used in parks and gardens and as cut flowers.

<i>Cyclamen hederifolium</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae

Cyclamen hederifolium, the ivy-leaved cyclamen or sowbread, is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae. This widespread cyclamen species is widely cultivated and among the most hardy and vigorous in oceanic climates. It is native to woodland, shrubland, and rocky areas in the Mediterranean region from southern France to western Turkey and on Mediterranean islands, and naturalized farther north in Europe and in the Pacific Northwest.

<i>Cyclamen coum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae

Cyclamen coum, the eastern sowbread, is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae. It is a tuberous herbaceous perennial, growing to 5–8 cm (2–3 in), with rounded heart-shaped leaves and pink shell-shaped flowers with darker coloration at the base. It is valued in horticulture as groundcover, and for the flowers which bloom in winter and early spring.

<i>Cyclamen persicum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae

Cyclamen persicum, the Persian cyclamen, is a species of flowering herbaceous perennial plant growing from a tuber, native to rocky hillsides, shrubland, and woodland up to 1,200 m (3,900 ft) above sea level, from south-central Turkey to Lebanon-Syria and the Palestine region. It also grows in Algeria and Tunisia and on the Greek islands of Rhodes, Karpathos, and Crete, where it may have been introduced by monks. Cultivars of this species are the commonly seen florist's cyclamen.

<i>Cyclamen cilicium</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae

Cyclamen cilicium is a species of flowering perennial plant in the family Primulaceae. It is native to coniferous woodland at 700–2,000 m (2,300–6,600 ft) elevation in the Taurus Mountains of southern Turkey.

<i>Cyclamen parviflorum</i> Species of flowering plant

Cyclamen parviflorum, the small-flowered cyclamen is a flowering perennial plant growing from a tuber, native to high elevations in the Pontic Mountains of northern Turkey. It is the smallest cyclamen species and the only one native to alpine tundra.

<i>Cyclamen rohlfsianum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae

Cyclamen rohlfsianum is a species of perennial plant in the family Primulaceae. It is endemic to Libya. It grows from a tuber in shrubland, especially in limestone cracks, up to 450 m (1,500 ft) above sea level. It is one of the tenderest cyclamen species. The plant was discovered by Friedrich Gerhard Rohlfs in 1879, and was named after him in 1897 by Paul Friedrich August Ascherson.

<i>Cyclamen alpinum</i> Species of flowering plant

Cyclamen alpinum is a perennial plant growing from a tuber, native to an area of southwestern Turkey, northwest of Antalya. It is isolated from other species of the Cyclamen coum group.

<i>Cyclamen africanum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae

Cyclamen africanum is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae. It is referred to by the common name African cyclamen and is a perennial growing from a tuber, native to northern Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. It is similar to Cyclamen hederifolium, but not frost-hardy.

<i>Cyclamen colchicum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae

Cyclamen colchicum is a perennial growing from a tuber, native to densely shaded areas among rocks or tree roots in woodland on limestone at 300–800 m (980–2,620 ft) elevation in the autonomous republic of Adjara in Georgia, about 1,900 km (1,200 mi) from the range of the closely related species Cyclamen purpurascens. Unlike C. purpurascens, leaves are very thick and leathery with finely toothed edges.

<i>Cyclamen pseudibericum</i> Species of flowering plant

Cyclamen pseudibericum, the false Iberian cyclamen, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Cyclamen of the family Primulaceae, native to the Amanus or Nur and Anti-Taurus Mountains in southern Turkey. It is an herbaceous, tuberous perennial growing to 12 cm (5 in). It is similar to Cyclamen coum, but with longer petals.

<i>Cyclamen mirabile</i> Species of flowering plant

Cyclamen mirabile, sowbread, is a species of flowering plant in the primrose family Primulaceae. A tufted, tuberous herbaceous perennial growing to 10 cm (3.9 in), it is native to Turkish pine woodland and maquis in southwestern Turkey. It belongs to the Cyclamen cilicium group of the genus Cyclamen. The species was identified and named in 1906.

Cyclamen somalense, also known as the Somalian cyclamen, is a species of flowering plant within the genus Cyclamen and family Primulaceae. It is endemic to Somalia, where it is significantly isolated from other Cyclamen species. The species tolerates higher temperatures than most Cyclamen species, being substantially closer to the equator than any other species within the genus.

References

  1. 1 2 Christopher Grey-Wilson (16 September 2009). The Rock Garden Plant Primer: Easy, Small Plants for Containers, Patios, and the Open Garden. Timber Press. pp. 86–87. ISBN   978-0-88192-928-7 . Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  2. RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN   978-1405332965.
  3. "Cyclamen purpurascens". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  4. purpurāscō . Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short. A Latin Dictionary on Perseus Project .
  5. Unusual Cyclamen purpurascens growth behaviour (photos of tuber). Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum.
  6. Cyclamen around Lago di Garda. Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum.
  7. Seed list. Green Ice Nursery.

Books