Cyclamen graecum, the Greek cyclamen, is a perennial plant in the flowering plant family Primulaceae that grows from a tuber. It is native to southern Greece and Crete, and is prized for its variable leaf forms, which include some of the most striking of any cyclamen.

Distribution

Cyclamen graecum is native to a wide variety of areas up to 1200 m elevation in southern mainland Greece, the Peloponnese, Aegean Islands, and Crete.

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: The former subspecies Cyclamen graecum subsp. anatolicum Ietsw. is now elevated to a separate species, Cyclamen maritimum Hildebr., native to the eastern Aegean Islands (including Rhodes), southwestern and southern Turkey, and northern Cyprus. It is characterized by more slender flowers with a smaller blotch and slight auricles. <Gallery> CyclamenGraecaKythera.jpg|Greek Cyclamen in Kythera Cyclamen graecum1.jpg|Cyclamen graecum, Osaka Prefectural Flower Garden </Gallery>