''Cyclamen elegans'' (= ''

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 ...

'' subsp. ''elegans'') is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

growing from a

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growin ...

, native to the

Alborz The Alborz ( fa, البرز) range, also spelled as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran that stretches from the border of Azerbaijan along the western and entire southern coast of the Caspian Sea and finally runs nort ...

Mountains in northern

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and southeastern

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

. It is native to

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

in the

Mountains of northwestern

and extreme southeastern

below

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Ver ...

, where it can even be found growing in moss on the lower limbs of trees. It is similar to ''Cyclamen coum'', and was once considered a subspecies (''Cyclamen coum'' subsp. ''elegans''), but leaves and

petals Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usually ...

are longer as well as ''C. elegans'' flowering earlier in October or November.Christopher Grey-Wilson The petals of ''C. elegans'' also have a dark blotch at the base of each petal in the flower head.

References

External links

Cyclamen Society
(''Cyclamen coum'')
Ornamental Plants from Russia
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3436919 elegans Flora of Azerbaijan Flora of Iran