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Cyclamen

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Plants; Recreation

                           iCyclamen
   Cyclamen persicum growing wild, Ben-Shemen forest, Israel
   Cyclamen persicum growing wild,
   Ben-Shemen forest, Israel
                   Scientific classification

   Kingdom:  Plantae
   Division: Magnoliophyta
   Class:    Magnoliopsida
   Order:    Ericales
   Family:   Myrsinaceae
   Genus:    Cyclamen

                                   Species

   Cyclamen africanum
   Cyclamen balearicum
   Cyclamen cilicium
   Cyclamen colchicum
   Cyclamen coum
   Cyclamen creticum
   Cyclamen cyprium
   Cyclamen graecum
   Cyclamen hederifolium
   Cyclamen intaminatum
   Cyclamen libanoticum
   Cyclamen mirabile
   Cyclamen parviflorum
   Cyclamen persicum
   Cyclamen pseudibericum
   Cyclamen purpurascens
   Cyclamen repandum
   Cyclamen rhodium
   Cyclamen rohlfsianum
   Cyclamen somalense
   Cyclamen alpinum

   Cyclamen is a genus of 20 species of flowering plants, 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 violets), or primrose (neither is it a
   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 aestivating plants, with a surface or underground tuber
   (derived from the hypocotyl) 4-12 cm diameter, which produces leaves in
   late winter, and flowers 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
   animals. The flowers are produced in whorls of 3-10, each flower on a
   slender stem 3-12 cm tall, with five united petals; 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
   seeds about 2 mm diameter. Natural seed dispersal is by ants, which eat
   the sticky covering and then discard the seeds. Cyclamens are used as
   food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including 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.

Cultivation and uses

   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 florists is C. persicum, which is
   frost-tender. Selected cyclamen cultivars can have white, bright pink,
   red or purple flowers. While flowering, florists' cyclamens should be
   kept below 68 °F, with the night time temperatures preferably between
   44 °F to 59 °F. Temperatures above 68 °F 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 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 poisonous; they have been used medicinally as a
   powerful purgative, but their toxicity makes this risky.

Gallery

   Cyclamen cilicium

   Cyclamen coum

   cyclamen with seed pods

   Cyclamen hederifolium

   Cyclamen hederifolium

   Cyclamen persicum (Israel)

   Cyclamen persicum (Israel)

   Cyclamen persicum

   Cyclamen purpurascens

   Cyclamen purpurascens

   Cyclamen repandum (France)

   cultivated cyclamen

   cultivated cyclamen

   cultivated cyclamen

   cultivated cyclamen

   cultivated cyclamen

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclamen"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
