CYCLAMENL. - CYCLAMEN
Scientific Description:
Perennial herbs with tuberous rootstocks. Leaves long-petiolate, glabrous, ovate, suborbicular or reniform with a cordate base, entire or variously toothed, lobed or angled. Flowers solitary, axillary, nodding. Pedicel long, usually coiling spirally in fruit. Calyx deeply 5-lobed. Corolla purple, pink or white, with a short hemispherical tube, and 5 lobes which are contorted in bud and strongly reflexed or rarely patent at anthesis. Stamens 5, inserted at base of corolla; filaments very short; anthers large, connivent to form a cone. Ovary superior; style slender, usually exceeding anthers. Capsule broad, splitting from apex irregularly or into 5 curved teeth. Seeds spongy, coated with a sticky secretion; antidispersed.
Reference:
Meikle RD (1978). Cyclamen L., In: Davis PH (ed.), Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 6: 128.
Public Description:
Cyclamen, known as “cyclamen” or “persian violet”, is naturally distributed in Europe and the Mediterranean Basin, extends eastward to Iran, and is also represented by a single natural species in Somalia, north-east Africa. There are approximately 20 species in the world and 11 species (14 taxa) in Türkiye. It is a genus of tuberous perennial herbs with flamboyant purple, pink or white flowers. The genus name "Cyclamen" is derived from Latin meaning "circle" and is probably given because of the round disc shape nature of the tuber. Cyclamens are widely used in the world as indoor or outdoor ornamental plants. The pickled tubers of cyclamens were eaten in times of famine, e.g. in the Lebanon during the civil war. Also, in Lebanon, the leaves are filled with lamb or vegetables to make "dwayk ak Jabal", like a Turkish dolma.
References:
Anonymous 1 (2016). https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclamen /,Accessed date: 14.04.2016.
Anonymous 2 (2016). http://www.theplantlist.org/1.1/browse/A/Primulaceae/Cyclamen/ / Accessed date: 14.04.2016.
Coşkunçelebi K (2012). Cyclamen L., In: Güner, A., Aslan, S., Ekim, T., Vural, M. & Babaç, M.T. (eds.), Türkiye Bitkileri Listesi (Damarlı Bitkiler). Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanik Bahçesi ve Flora Araştırmaları Derneği Yayını. İstanbul, pp. 768–769.
.JPG)