Cyclamen graecum

Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Ordo: Ericales

Familia: Primulaceae
Subfamilia: Myrsinoideae
Genus: Cyclamen
Subgenus: C. subg. Cyclamen
Series: C. ser. Graecum
Species: Cyclamen graecum
Subspecies: C. g. subsp. candicum – C. g. subsp. graecum
Name

Cyclamen graecum Link, Linnaea 9: 573. 1834.

Type: Greece: ad rupes circa Naupliam, ix 1833, Berger (M, B - destroyed)

Synonyms

Homotypic
Cyclaminus graeca (Link) Asch., Ber. Deutsch. Bot. Ges. 10: 235. 1892.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Europe
Regional: Southeastern Europe
Greece, Kriti.
Continental: Asia-Temperate
Regional: Western Asia
East Aegean Islands.

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Additional references

Ietswaart, J.H. 1990: Infraspecific delimitation of the Cyclamen graecum complex. Cyclamen Soc. J. 14(2): 49–53. Reference page.
Culham, A. & Könyves, K. 2014. The Cyclamen graecum group, how many species? Cyclamen 38(2): 70–76. PDF Reference page.
Grey-Wilson, C. 2002. Cyclamen: a guide for gardeners, horticulturists and botanists. New edition. London: Batsford, ISBN 0-7134-8760-7 Reference page.
Mathew, B.F. 2013. Genus Cyclamen in Science, Cultivation, Art and Culture. Kew Publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, ISBN 978-1-84246-472-4, p. 173–188 Reference page.

Links

The Plant List 2013. Cyclamen graecum in The Plant List Version 1.1. Published online. Accessed: 2016 May 6.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Cyclamen graecum in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service.

Cyclamen graecum, the Greek cyclamen,[1] 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.

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, Crete, the southern coast of Turkey, and northern Cyprus.
Description
Cyclamen graecum1.jpg

The tuber is corky, with a thick, strong, fleshy anchor, and roots sprouting from the center of the bottom.

The leaves are heart-shaped and toothed.

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.
Subdivisions
Subspecies

Cyclamen graecum has three subspecies, distinguished by flower characteristics:

Cyclamen graecum subsp. graecum — pink flowers with a darker blotch at the nose (Greece, Aegean islands, Crete)
Cyclamen graecum subsp. graecum f. album — all-white flowers (Peloponnese, Rhodopou Peninsula of Crete)
Cyclamen graecum subsp. anatolicum Ietsw. — more slender flowers with a smaller blotch and slight auricles (southern Turkey, Rhodes, northern Cyprus). Now elevated to a separate species, Cyclamen maritimum.[2]
Cyclamen graecum subsp. mindleri Hildebr. (or candicum Ietsw.) white or pale pink flowers with more pronounced auricles (western Crete)

References

BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
"Cyclamen maritimum". Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2018.