| Cyclamen repandum | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Myrsinaceae |
| Genus: | Cyclamen |
| Subgenus: | Psilanthum |
| Binomial name | |
| Cyclamen repandum Sm. |
|
Cyclamen repandum is the most widespread of a group of cyclamens (Cyclamen subgenus Psilanthum) with wide, heart-shaped leaves, often coarsely toothed or lobed, and late spring–blooming flowers with long, slender petals. Species in the group are native to southern Europe and some Mediterranean islands.
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The name of the subgenus, Psilanthum, comes from Ancient Greek psilós "bare" and ánthos "flower".[1]
The species name repandum is Latin for "bent back" or "turned up".[2]
Cyclamen repandum is native to rocky areas, shrubland, and woodland near the Mediterranean from southeastern France through Italy to Serbia and on Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily. The tuber of the Cyclamen repandum group roots only from the center of the bottom.
Leaves are dark green with a lighter arrowhead pattern, not speckled.
Flowers are deep carmine-pink or white, without a darker nose. They lack the auricles present in Cyclamen hederifolium.
The Cyclamen repandum group also includes C. rhodium, C. balearicum, and C. creticum.
Cyclamen rhodium (formerly Cyclamen peloponnesiacum or Cyclamen repandum subsp. rhodense and subsp. peloponnesiacum) is native to areas in the Peloponnese and Dodecanese. It has green leaves, often speckled or variegated with an arrowhead pattern in lighter color.
The three subspecies have different flower color and habitat. Subsp. peloponnesiacum is pink with a deep carmine-pink mouth and grows in shaded woodland in the Taygetus Mountains in the southern Peloponnese and near Mt. Aroania in the north.
Subsp. vividum is deep carmine-magenta and grows in sunny areas on the southeastern coast of the Peloponnese.
Subsp. rhodense (= Cyclamen rhodium) is white or pale pink with a pink nose and grows in shaded woodland and shrubland on the islands of Rhodes and Kos.
Cyclamen balearicum is native to shady evergreen broadleaved woodland or shrubland (holm oak, Kermes oak, box) and rocks in the Balearic Islands and scattered locations in southeastern France. Flowers are all-white and fragrant, and leaves are blue-green speckled with silver.
Cyclamen creticum is native to the islands of Crete and Karpathos. Form creticum has white flowers, and form pallide-roseum has pale pink flowers, both without a darker nose. Flowers are fragrant.
When species of the Cyclamen repandum group are growing together, hybrids can emerge: