Cyclamen Coum

''Cyclamen coum'', the eastern sowbread, is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae. It is a tuberous herbaceous perennial, growing to , 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.

Description

The tuber produces roots from the center of the bottom only. It remains small, only reaching about across.

The 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''.

The 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".

Etymology

The species name ''coum'' more likely refers to Koa or Quwê (an ancient region in eastern Cilicia, 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.

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 (confirmed 2017).

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 .

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.
* leaf as wide or broader than long
** ''Cyclamen coum'' subsp. ''coum'' (west and south) — leaf edge usually smooth, petal lobes
***''Cyclamen coum'' subsp. ''coum'' f. ''coum'' — petals pink to magenta, with dark markings at base of petal lobe
***''Cyclamen coum'' subsp. ''coum'' f. ''pallidum'' — petals white or very pale pink, with dark markings
***''Cyclamen coum'' subsp. ''coum'' f. ''albissimum'' — petals pure white, without markings
* leaf longer than wide
** ''Cyclamen coum'' subsp. ''caucasicum'' (east) — leaf wavy-edged — petals

Note: The isolate population of Crimea, formerly called ''Cyclamen kuznetzovii'' Kotov & Czernova, is now considered as a local variant of ''Cyclamen coum''.Janis Ruksans, ''Buried Treasures: Finding and Growing the World's Choicest Bulbs'', p. 113, Timber Press, 2007 -

Gallery

File:Cyclamen coum leaf (autumn).jpg, Leaf in autumn
File:Cyclamen coum bud 01.jpg, Opening flower bud
File:Cyclamen coum flower close-up.JPG, Light pink flower
File:Cyclamen coum flower close-up 02.JPG, Dark pink flower
File:Cyclamen coum - white4.jpg, White flower (f. ''pallidum'')
File:Cyclamen coum pod 1.jpg, Ripening seed pod
Image:Cyclamen coum ssp. coum f. pallidum.jpg, ''Cyclamen coum'' subsp. ''coum'' f. ''pallidum'' (white flowers with dark markings)
Image:Cyclamen coum ssp. coum f. albissimum 'Lake Effect'.jpg, ''Cyclamen coum'' subsp. ''coum'' f. ''albissimum'' 'Lake Effect' (white flowers with no dark markings)
Image:Cyclamen parviflorum-2.JPG, ''Cyclamen coum'' subsp. ''caucasicum''

Similar species

The ''Cyclamen coum'' group also includes ''Cyclamen abchasicum'', ''Cyclamen elegans'', ''Cyclamen alpinum'', ''Cyclamen parviflorum'' and ''Cyclamen pseudibericum''.

*leaves wider than long
**''Cyclamen parviflorum''
**:flowers tiny; leaves green
*leaves longer than wide; leaf edge coarsely toothed, scalloped, or shallowly lobed
**petals as long as ''Cyclamen coum''
***''Cyclamen alpinum'' (formerly ''Cyclamen trochopteranthum'')
**:petals horizontal, twisted like a propeller; leaves speckled with grey
**petals longer than ''Cyclamen coum''
*** '' Cyclamen abchasicum'' (formerly ''Cyclamen coum'' var. ''abchasicum'')
**:taxon between ''Cyclamen coum'' and ''Cyclamen elegans''
***''Cyclamen elegans'' (formerly ''Cyclamen coum'' subsp. ''elegans'')
***''Cyclamen pseudibericum''
**:petals with broad dark blotch and white band on nose

Image:Cyclamen parviflorum.jpg, ''Cyclamen parviflorum'' var. ''subalpinum''
Image:Cyclamen alpinum.jpg, ''Cyclamen alpinum''
Image:Cyclamen abchasicum.jpg, ''Cyclamen abchasicum''
Image:Cyclamen elegans.jpg, ''Cyclamen elegans''
Image:Cyclamen pseudibericum04.jpg, ''Cyclamen pseudibericum''

Hybrid

''Cyclamen'' ×''drydenii'' Grey-Wilson, a hybrid ''Cyclamen coum'' × ''Cyclamen alpinum'', has intermediate characteristics, i.e., round leaves and horizontal twisted petals.

References

External links

Cyclamen SocietyPacific Bulb SocietyBotany Photo of the Day
— University of British Columbia Botanical Garden

{{Taxonbar, from=Q82611

coum
Flora of Western Asia
Flora of Lebanon
Taxa named by Philip Miller
Flora of Bulgaria