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{{Taxobox
| name = ''Cyclamen''
| image = Wild cyclamens.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = ''Cyclamen persicum'' growing wild, <br/> [[Ben Shemen forest]], [[Israel]]| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Ericales]]
| familia = [[Myrsinaceae]]
| genus = '''''Cyclamen'''''
| genus_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
''[[Cyclamen africanum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen alpinum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen balearicum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen cilicium]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen colchicum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen coum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen creticum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen cyprium]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen elegans]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen graecum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen hederifolium]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen intaminatum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen libanoticum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen mirabile]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen parviflorum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen peloponnesiacumum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen persicum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen pseudibericum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen purpurascens]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen repandum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen rohlfsianum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen somalense]]'' <br/>
}}
'''''Cyclamen''''' is a [[genus]] of 20 [[species]] of [[flowering plant]]s, traditionally classified in the family [[Primulaceae]], but in recent years reclassified in the family [[Myrsinaceae]]. 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 native to the [[Mediterranean]] region from [[Spain]] east to [[Iran]], and also in northeast [[Africa]] south to [[Somalia]]. They are [[perennial]] herbaceous [[aestivate|aestivating]] plants, with a surface or underground [[tuber]] (derived from the [[hypocotyl]]) 4-12 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. The leaves are rounded to triangular, 2-10 cm long and 2-7 cm broad, and usually [[variegated]] with a pale silvery horseshoe-shaped mark round the middle of the leaf. The variegation is thought by some botanists to be a form of natural disruptive [[camouflage]] to reduce [[grazing]] damage by [[animal]]s. The [[flower]]s are produced in whorls of 3-10, each flower on a slender stem 3-12 cm tall, with five united [[petal]]s; the petals are usually reflexed back 90° to 180° erect above the flower, and vary from white through pink to red-purple, most commonly pale pink. The [[fruit]] is a five-chambered capsule 1-2 cm diameter, containing numerous sticky [[seed]]s about 2 mm diameter. Natural seed dispersal is by [[ant]]s, which eat the sticky covering and then discard the seeds. Cyclamens are used as food plants by the [[larva]]e of some [[Lepidoptera]] species including [[Gothic (moth)|The Gothic]].
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, or -30°C if covered by [[snow]]; others, such as ''C. somalense'' from northeastern Somalia, do not tolerate any frost at all. 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]).
==Cultivation and uses==
{{Main|List of cyclamen diseases}}
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]].
The cyclamen commonly sold by [[florist]]s is ''C. persicum'', which is frost-tender. Selected cyclamen [[cultivar]]s can have white, bright pink, red or purple flowers. While flowering, florists' cyclamens should be kept below 68 °F (20 °C, 293 [[kelvin]]s), with the night time temperatures preferably between 44 °F to 59 °F (6.67 °C to 15 °C, or 280 K to 288 K). Temperatures above 68 °F (20 °C, 293 K) may induce the plant to go dormant.
In many areas within the native range, cyclamen populations have been severely depleted by collection from the wild, often illegally, for the horticultural trade; some species are now [[endangered species|endangered]] as a result. However, in a few areas, plant conservation charities have educated local people to control the harvest carefully at a sustainable level, including sowing seed for future crops, both sustaining the wild populations and producing a reliable long-term income. Many cyclamen are also propagated in nurseries without harm to the wild plants.
Cyclamen species are [[poison]]ous; they have been used medicinally as a powerful [[purgative]], but their toxicity makes this risky.
==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Cyclamen cilicium 1.JPG|''Cyclamen persicum''
Image:Cyclamen coum0.jpg|''Cyclamen coum''
Image:cyclamen in the stage of pod formation.JPG|cyclamen with seed pods
Image:Cyclamen hederifolium0.jpg|''Cyclamen hederifolium''
Image:450px-Cyclamen.jpg|''Cyclamen hederifolium''
Image:800px-Cyclamens.jpg|''Cyclamen persicum''
Image:Rakefet03.jpg|''Cyclamen persicum''
Image:Cyclamen.persicum.7086.jpg|''Cyclamen persicum''
Image:Cyclamen purpurascens 280803.jpg|''Cyclamen purpurascens''
Image:800px-Cyclamen-Alpenveilchen.jpg|''Cyclamen purpurascens''
Image:Cyclamen repandum.jpg|''Cyclamen repandum''
Image:Cyclamen 2.jpg|cultivated cyclamen
Image:567px-Alpenveilchen Cyclamen 1.jpg|cultivated cyclamen
Image:CyclamenPersicumMill20.jpg|cultivated cyclamen
Image:Cyclamen sp1.jpg|cultivated cyclamen
Image:P1080629.JPG|cultivated cyclamen
</gallery>
{{-}}
==External links==
* [http://www.cyclamen.org The Cyclamen Society]
* [http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Cyclamen+hederifolium Plants for a Future: ''Cyclamen'']
* [http://hortchat.com/info/cyclamen Cyclamen Q&A]
| name = ''Cyclamen''
| image = Wild cyclamens.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = ''Cyclamen persicum'' growing wild, <br/> [[Ben Shemen forest]], [[Israel]]| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Ericales]]
| familia = [[Myrsinaceae]]
| genus = '''''Cyclamen'''''
| genus_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
''[[Cyclamen africanum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen alpinum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen balearicum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen cilicium]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen colchicum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen coum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen creticum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen cyprium]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen elegans]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen graecum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen hederifolium]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen intaminatum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen libanoticum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen mirabile]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen parviflorum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen peloponnesiacumum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen persicum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen pseudibericum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen purpurascens]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen repandum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen rohlfsianum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen somalense]]'' <br/>
}}
'''''Cyclamen''''' is a [[genus]] of 20 [[species]] of [[flowering plant]]s, traditionally classified in the family [[Primulaceae]], but in recent years reclassified in the family [[Myrsinaceae]]. 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 native to the [[Mediterranean]] region from [[Spain]] east to [[Iran]], and also in northeast [[Africa]] south to [[Somalia]]. They are [[perennial]] herbaceous [[aestivate|aestivating]] plants, with a surface or underground [[tuber]] (derived from the [[hypocotyl]]) 4-12 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. The leaves are rounded to triangular, 2-10 cm long and 2-7 cm broad, and usually [[variegated]] with a pale silvery horseshoe-shaped mark round the middle of the leaf. The variegation is thought by some botanists to be a form of natural disruptive [[camouflage]] to reduce [[grazing]] damage by [[animal]]s. The [[flower]]s are produced in whorls of 3-10, each flower on a slender stem 3-12 cm tall, with five united [[petal]]s; the petals are usually reflexed back 90° to 180° erect above the flower, and vary from white through pink to red-purple, most commonly pale pink. The [[fruit]] is a five-chambered capsule 1-2 cm diameter, containing numerous sticky [[seed]]s about 2 mm diameter. Natural seed dispersal is by [[ant]]s, which eat the sticky covering and then discard the seeds. Cyclamens are used as food plants by the [[larva]]e of some [[Lepidoptera]] species including [[Gothic (moth)|The Gothic]].
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, or -30°C if covered by [[snow]]; others, such as ''C. somalense'' from northeastern Somalia, do not tolerate any frost at all. 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]).
==Cultivation and uses==
{{Main|List of cyclamen diseases}}
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]].
The cyclamen commonly sold by [[florist]]s is ''C. persicum'', which is frost-tender. Selected cyclamen [[cultivar]]s can have white, bright pink, red or purple flowers. While flowering, florists' cyclamens should be kept below 68 °F (20 °C, 293 [[kelvin]]s), with the night time temperatures preferably between 44 °F to 59 °F (6.67 °C to 15 °C, or 280 K to 288 K). Temperatures above 68 °F (20 °C, 293 K) may induce the plant to go dormant.
In many areas within the native range, cyclamen populations have been severely depleted by collection from the wild, often illegally, for the horticultural trade; some species are now [[endangered species|endangered]] as a result. However, in a few areas, plant conservation charities have educated local people to control the harvest carefully at a sustainable level, including sowing seed for future crops, both sustaining the wild populations and producing a reliable long-term income. Many cyclamen are also propagated in nurseries without harm to the wild plants.
Cyclamen species are [[poison]]ous; they have been used medicinally as a powerful [[purgative]], but their toxicity makes this risky.
==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Cyclamen cilicium 1.JPG|''Cyclamen persicum''
Image:Cyclamen coum0.jpg|''Cyclamen coum''
Image:cyclamen in the stage of pod formation.JPG|cyclamen with seed pods
Image:Cyclamen hederifolium0.jpg|''Cyclamen hederifolium''
Image:450px-Cyclamen.jpg|''Cyclamen hederifolium''
Image:800px-Cyclamens.jpg|''Cyclamen persicum''
Image:Rakefet03.jpg|''Cyclamen persicum''
Image:Cyclamen.persicum.7086.jpg|''Cyclamen persicum''
Image:Cyclamen purpurascens 280803.jpg|''Cyclamen purpurascens''
Image:800px-Cyclamen-Alpenveilchen.jpg|''Cyclamen purpurascens''
Image:Cyclamen repandum.jpg|''Cyclamen repandum''
Image:Cyclamen 2.jpg|cultivated cyclamen
Image:567px-Alpenveilchen Cyclamen 1.jpg|cultivated cyclamen
Image:CyclamenPersicumMill20.jpg|cultivated cyclamen
Image:Cyclamen sp1.jpg|cultivated cyclamen
Image:P1080629.JPG|cultivated cyclamen
</gallery>
{{-}}
==External links==
* [http://www.cyclamen.org The Cyclamen Society]
* [http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Cyclamen+hederifolium Plants for a Future: ''Cyclamen'']
* [http://hortchat.com/info/cyclamen Cyclamen Q&A]
