Subgenus Gyrophoebe Scientific name Cyclamen coum Rank Species | Genus Cyclamen Series Pubipedia Higher classification Cyclamen | |
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Similar Cyclamen, Cyclamen hederifolium, Cyclamen purpurascens, Cyclamen cilicium, Cyclamen persicum | ||
Hardy cyclamen cyclamen coum and cyclamen hederifolium
Cyclamen coum, the eastern sowbread, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Cyclamen (subgenus Gyrophoebe series Pubipedia). It is a tuberous herbaceous perennial, growing to 5–8 cm (2–3 in), with rounded heart-shaped leaves and pink shell-shaped flowers with darker coloration at the base. It is valued in horticulture as groundcover, and for the flowers which bloom in winter and early spring.
Contents
- Hardy cyclamen cyclamen coum and cyclamen hederifolium
- Etymology
- Distribution
- Description
- Cultivation
- Hardiness
- Subspecies and forms
- Similar species
- Hybrid
- References
Etymology
The species name coum more likely refers to Koa or Quwê (an ancient region in eastern Cilicia, now part of Armenia and southeastern Turkey), which is part of the species' natural range, than to the island of Kos, where the species does not grow.
Distribution
Cyclamen coum is native to two areas. The main range is around the Black Sea, from Bulgaria through northern Turkey to the Caucasus and Crimea, and a disjunct population lies near the Mediterranean from the Hatay Province in Turkey through Lebanon to northern Israel.
Cyclamen coum subsp. coum inhabits the western part of the main range and the southern area, while C. coum subsp. caucasicum inhabits the eastern part, including the Caucasus. Plants with intermediate characteristics are found in the middle of the range.
Description
The tuber produces roots from the center of the bottom only. It remains small, only reaching about 6.5 cm (2.6 in) across.
Leaves are round or kidney-shaped to long heart-shaped. The color is all-silver, all-green, or silver variegated with a variably sized green hastate (arrowhead-shaped) or "Christmas tree" pattern and a green edge. The edge is smooth or gently toothed, but never angled and pointed as in Cyclamen hederifolium.
Flowers are squat, with almost round petals, unlike any other group of cyclamen species. They bloom from winter to spring. The petals are magenta, pink, or white, with a darker blotch at the base. Below the blotch is a small white or pink "eye".
Cultivation
Cyclamen coum self-seeds and grows more slowly than Cyclamen hederifolium and is usually out-competed when the two are grown together. The species C. coum and the form C. coum subsp. coum f. coum Pewter Group have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Hardiness
Along with C. hederifolium and C. purpurascens, C. coum is one of the hardiest cyclamen species, growing well in an area of New York where the temperature has reached as low as −19 °F (−28 °C).
Subspecies and forms
There are two subspecies and three forms, distinguished by leaf and flower characteristics. Cyclamen elegans was formerly considered a subspecies (Cyclamen coum subsp. elegans), but is now a species in its own right.
Similar species
The Cyclamen coum group also includes Cyclamen abchasicum, Cyclamen elegans, Cyclamen alpinum, Cyclamen parviflorum and Cyclamen pseudibericum.
Hybrid
Cyclamen ×drydenii Grey-Wilson, a hybrid Cyclamen coum × Cyclamen alpinum, has intermediate characteristics, i.e., round leaves and horizontal twisted petals.