View source for Cyclamen

{{SPlantbox
|familia=Myrsinaceae
|genus=Cyclamen
|common_name=Cyclamen
|habit=bulbous
|origin=Spain to Iran to Somalia
|lifespan=perennial
|exposure=part-sun
|water=moderate, dry
|Temp Metric=°F
|jumpin=If this plant info box on watering; zones; height; etc. is mostly empty you can click on the edit tab and fill in the blanks!
|image=Cyclamen libanoticum01.jpg
|image_width=240
|image_caption=Cyclamen libanoticum
}}
'''''Cyclamen''''' is a [[genus]] of 23 [[species]] of [[flowering plant]]s, traditionally classified in the family [[Primulaceae]], but in recent years reclassified in the family [[Myrsinaceae]] (Kallersjo et al. 2000). The genus is most widely known by its scientific name ''Cyclamen'' being taken into common usage; other names occasionally used include '''sowbread''' and sometimes, confusingly, '''Persian violet''' (it is not related to the [[violet (plant)|violets]]), or '''primrose''' (neither is it a [[Primula vulgaris|primrose]]). 

Cyclamen are commonly grown for their flowers, both outdoors and indoors in pots. Several species are hardy and can be grown outdoors in mild climates such as northwest Europe and the Pacific Northwest of North America.

The cyclamen commonly sold by florists is [[Cyclamen persicum|C. persicum]], which is frost-tender.

Cyclamen are native to the [[Mediterranean]] region from [[Spain]] east to [[Iran]], and also in [[Northeast Africa]] in areas such as [[Somalia]]. They are [[perennial]] herbaceous [[aestivate|aestivating]] plants, with a surface or underground [[tuber]] (derived from the [[hypocotyl]]) 4-12&nbsp;cm diameter, which produces [[leaf|leaves]] in late winter, and [[flower]]s in the autumn; the leaves die down during the hottest part of the Mediterranean summer [[drought]] to conserve 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 [[animal]]s. 

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&nbsp;cm - 9&nbsp;cm''' height. 

The leaves grow on stems up to 8&nbsp;cm tall and form a tightly bunched circular disk of leaves. Leaves are rounded to triangular, 2-10&nbsp;cm long and 2-7&nbsp;cm broad, and usually [[variegated]] with a pale silvery horseshoe-shaped mark round the middle of the leaf.The top of the leaf is split with the split extending to the connection with the stem. A common cultivar available in western shops has a leaves with a (slightly stretched) heart shape.

The stems for flowers rise from the middle of the disk of leaves. The stem for flowers grows up to 12&nbsp;cm tall, and the end of the flowers stem curves 150 - 180 degrees downward. The flower bud terminates the stem. The various cultivars produce flowers with either four or five united [[petal]]s growing from the edge of the flower bud. The petals are usually reflexed back 90° to 180° to be erect above the flower bud, and vary from white through pink to red-purple, most commonly pale pink. 

The [[fruit]] is a five-chambered capsule 1-2&nbsp;cm diameter, containing numerous sticky [[seed]]s about 2&nbsp;mm diameter.

Cyclamen typically grow in dry [[forest]] or scrub, where they are at least partly shaded from intense sunlight. The species vary greatly in winter [[frost]] tolerance, with the hardiest species (''C. hederifolium'') tolerating temperatures down to -15°C (5 °F), or -30°C (-22 °F) if covered by [[snow]]. Others, such as ''C.&nbsp;somalense'' from northeastern Somalia, do not tolerate any frost at all.  Certain climate change models suggest many species could become extinct in their current range within the next 50 years (Yesson & Culham 2006[http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/6/72/abstract]).