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{{Taxobox
{{SPlantbox
| name = ''Cyclamen''
|familia=Myrsinaceae
| image = Wild cyclamens.jpg
|genus=Cyclamen
| image_width = 240px
|common_name=Cyclamen
| image_caption = ''Cyclamen persicum'' growing wild, <br/> [[Ben Shemen forest]], [[Israel]]| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
|habit=bulbous
|origin=Spain to Iran to Somalia
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
|lifespan=perennial
| ordo = [[Ericales]]
|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 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 cm - 9 cm''' height.
The leaves grow on stems up to 8 cm tall and form a tightly bunched circular disk of leaves. 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 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 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 cm diameter, containing numerous sticky [[seed]]s about 2 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. 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]).
==Cultivation==
===Propagation===
Seed.
===Pests and diseases===
==Species==
''[[Cyclamen africanum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen africanum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen alpinum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen alpinum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen cilicium]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen cilicium]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen colchicum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen colchicum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen confusum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen coum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen coum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen creticum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen creticum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen repandum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen repandum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen rohlfsianum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen rohlfsianum]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen somalense]]'' <br/>
''[[Cyclamen somalense]]''
{{Inc|
C. aeqineticum, Hildeb. Intermediate between C. graecum and C. pseudo-graecum; from the former it differs in its small fls. and other parts and from the latter in haying more rounded Ivs. Greece. —C. graecum. Link. Autumn-flowering: lvs. obcordate. irregularly cartilaginous-dentate: corolla-lobes lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, eared at base, rose-colored with deep purple at base. S. E. Eu. —C. hiemale. Hildeb. Winter-flowering: Ivs. round-reniform, bright green and silver-zoned: H. purple with deep red in the throat; corolla-lobes round-ovate, not eared. Asia Minor.—C. Jovis, Hildeb. Differs from C. neapolitanum in its more slender fls. with longer lobes of calyx and corolla. Asia Minor.—C. maritimum, Hildeb. Lvs. variable in form, mostly ovate, brown-green: fls. in Sept., inconspicuous, pale rose with marked throat, the corolla-lobes rounded. Asia Minor.—C. Meliarakisii, Hort.=C. graecum.— C. pseudo-graecum, Hildeb. Differs from C. graecum in having filaments and anthers longer, the latter 3-angled and acuminate: corolla pale rose or almost white. Crete.—C. pseudo-ibericum, Hildeb. Spring-flowering: lvs. obcordate, rounded at base and top, the margin cartilaginous-crenulate, deep green and spotted silvery white: fl. violet, spotted with darker color, white at base; corolla-lobes oblong-ovate, not eared: pedicel spiral in fr. Probably Asia Minor.—-C. pseudo-maritimum, Hildeb. Differs from C. maritimum in lvs. being lanceolate-acuminate, calyx-lobes rounded and corolla-lobes long-acuminate. Asia Minor.—C. repandum, Sibth. & Smith. Spring-flowering: tuber small: lvs. cordate, undulate-lobed, the lobes usually mucronate: fl. beautiful purple, the throat constricted and deeper-colored. Cent. and K. Medit. basin.
}}
}}
==Gallery==
==Cultivation and uses==
<gallery perrow=5>
<gallery>
Image:Cyclamen cilicium 1.JPG|''Cyclamen persicum''
Image:Cyclamen cilicium 1.JPG|''Cyclamen persicum''
Image:cyclamen in the stage of pod formation.JPG|cyclamen with seed pods
Image:cyclamen in the stage of pod formation.JPG|cyclamen with seed pods
Image:Cyclamen purpurascens 280803.jpg|''Cyclamen purpurascens''
Image:Cyclamen purpurascens 280803.jpg|''Cyclamen purpurascens''
Image:Cyclamen 2.jpg|cultivated cyclamen
Image:Cyclamen 2.jpg|cultivated cyclamen
Image:567px-Alpenveilchen Cyclamen 1.jpg|cultivated cyclamen
Image:567px-Alpenveilchen Cyclamen 1.jpg|cultivated cyclamen
</gallery>
</gallery>
{{-}}
==Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture==
{{Inc|
Cyclamen (classical name, probably from the Greek word for circle, in allusion to the spirally twisted peduncles). Primulaceae. Herbaceous and low plants, with a flattish tuber or corm, grown sometimes in the open and one of them much prized as a florist's and window-garden subject.
Flower single, on a scape, with usually 5-parted calyx and corolla (the parts strongly reflexed), 5 connivent stamens, with pointed sessile anthers, 1 style and stigma, and a 5-splitting caps.: lvs. cordate or reniform, long-petioled, entire or sinuate-dentate: fls. nodding or declined, purple, rose or white. — About 20 species of the Medit. region, extending to Cent. Eu. C. persicum is the source of the standard florists' cyclamens. Most of the other species are essentially outdoor plants. They are little known in outdoor planting m N. Amer., however. The European catalogues list several species aside from C. persicum, and they are here described; and others are included in the supplementary list that are recently mentioned in horticultural literature. Old English name sow-bread, from the tubers being sought by swine. Consult Fr. Hildebrand, Die Gattung Cyclamen, Jena, 1898; also Pax & Knuth in Engler's Pflanzenreich, hft. 22, 1905.
All cyclamens are very beautiful, and would be much more popular were they hardy in our eastern climate. On the Pacific slope many of them probably would be perfectly at home as outdoor plants, producing a great number of flowers above the bare soil in the depth of winter before the leaves are developed.—It is, however, with the Persian cyclamen (C. persicum), which is tender, that florists have had the greatest success. There is no common winter-flowering subject of as much value for duration in bloom, variety of coloring, or wealth of color. It is preferable at all times to begin the culture of Persian cyclamen with seeds, sown in the early winter months. Grow on without any check for the following year. They should bloom freely about fifteen months from planting. Old tubers, such as are offered in fall with other florists' bulbs, rarely give satisfaction as compared with a packet of seeds. It is not the nature of the plant to have all its roots dried off, as if it were a hyacinth or tulip. Our summers are rather too warm to suit cyclamen perfectly, and it will be found that the most growth is made in the early autumn. -It is best to give the plants a little shade in the hot months, such as a frame outdoors near the shade of overhanging trees at midday. This is better than growing them under painted glass, .as more light is available, together with plenty of fresh air on hot days. It will be found that cyclamen seeds require a long time in which to germinate,—often two months. This is due to the fact that the seed produces a bulb or corm before leaf-growth is visible. As soon as two leaves are well developed, place the plants around the edge of 4- or 5-inch pots until every one is large enough for a 3-inch pot. The roots are produced sparingly in the initial stages, and too much pot-room would be fatal at the start. By the middle of summer another shift may be given, and in September all will be ready for the pots in which they are to flower,—5- or 6-inch pots, according to the vigor of the plants. It will always be found, however, that there will be a certain percentage that will not grow, no matter how much persuasion is used. These may be thrown away, to save time and labor early in the season. In the house they should have the lightest bench. It is impossible to prow them in a warm, shady house. About 50° at night is the ideal temperature when in flower. The best soil is a fresh, tufty loam, with a fourth or fifth of well-rotted horse- manure, to which add some clean sand if the soil is heavy. At all times, the pots should be well drained.— The Giganteum strains of the Persian cyclamen produce the largest blooms, but at the expense of quantity. For the average cultivator it is better to try a good strain that is not gigantic. There is a recent departure in the form of crested flowers. Cyclamens come true to color from seeds, and one can now buy named varieties that will reproduce themselves almost to a certainty.—Of recent years cultivators have had much trouble with a tiny pest or mite that attacks the plants and renders them useless for bloom. Its work is done mostly after the plants are taken into the greenhouse and when about to mature into blooming specimens. If the first flowers come deformed or abnormally streaked with colors that are darker in shade, it is a sure indication that the pest is present. Frequent light fumigation with hydrocyanic acid gas as soon as the pest is discovered will in time eradicate it, but being very small, and able to hide under the divisions of the calyx, seldom coming out except on bright days, makes the pest a difficult one to fight. The gas cannot be used during sunshine. Tobacco stems used freely between the pots is a good preventive measure. Greenfly is likely to attack the plants at all stages of growth. In the frames the plants may be plunged in tobacco stems, and in the greenhouse they must be fumigated or vaporized with some of the nicotine extracts. Great vigilance must be exercised in growing cyclamens.
}}
==References==
<references/>
*[[Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture]], by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
<!--- xxxxx *Flora: The Gardener's Bible, by Sean Hogan. Global Book Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0881925381 -->
<!--- xxxxx *American Horticultural Society: A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, by Christopher Brickell, Judith D. Zuk. 1996. ISBN 0789419432 -->
<!--- xxxxx *Sunset National Garden Book. Sunset Books, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0376038608 -->
==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.cyclamen.org The Cyclamen Society]
*{{wplink}}
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