Cyclamen graecum, the Greek cyclamen,[ and is prized for its variable leaf forms, which include some of the most striking of any cyclamen.
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Distribution
Cyclamen graecum is native to a wide variety of areas up to elevation in southern mainland Greece, the Peloponnese, Aegean Islands, and Crete.[ It is also found in Cyprus.]
Description
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.
Subspecies
Cyclamen graecum has two accepted subspecies,[ distinguished by flower characteristics:
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Cyclamen graecum subsp. candicum (synonym Cyclamen pseudograecum ) – endemic to western and central Crete.
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Cyclamen graecum subsp. graecum (synonyms C. aegineticum , C. gaidurowryssii , C. graecum f. album , C. graecum subsp. mindleri , C. macrophyllum , C. miliarakesii , C. mindleri , C. pentelici , C. persicum subsp. mindleri , C. velutinum , Cyclaminos miliarakesii , and Cyclaminos mindleri ) – native to mainland Greece and northwestern Crete.
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Cyclamen graecum subsp. graecum f. album — all-white flowers. Peloponnese and Rhodopou Peninsula of Crete.
The former subspecies Cyclamen graecum subsp. anatolicum is now elevated to a separate species, Cyclamen maritimum , native to the eastern Aegean Islands (including Rhodes), southwestern and southern Turkey, and northern Cyprus.[ The Cyclamen society - Cyclamen maritimum]
