Cyclamen facts for kids
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Cyclamen
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Cyclamen (say: SIK-la-men) is a group of 20 different kinds of flowering plants. These plants belong to the Myrsinaceae family. Most people know them by their scientific name, Cyclamen.
Sometimes, people call them "Persian violet" or "primrose." But Cyclamen plants are not actually related to violets or primroses. They just used to be grouped with them!
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Where Cyclamen Plants Grow
Cyclamen plants are originally from the Mediterranean region. This area stretches from Spain all the way to Iran. You can also find them in northeast Africa, reaching down to Somalia.
These plants are special because they are perennials. This means they live for more than two years. They are also herbaceous, which means they have soft stems, not woody ones like trees.
How Cyclamen Survive Summer Heat
Cyclamen plants have a clever way to survive the hot, dry Mediterranean summers. They have a special underground part called a tuber. This tuber is like a round, fleshy storage organ, usually 4 to 12 centimeters wide.
When summer gets very hot, the leaves and flowers of the Cyclamen plant die back. This helps the plant save water. The tuber stays alive underground, storing food and water. This resting period is called aestivation.
When autumn arrives and the weather cools down, the tuber starts to grow again. It sends up new leaves and then beautiful flowers.
Leaves and Flowers of Cyclamen
Each leaf and flower of a Cyclamen plant grows on its own stem. These stems shoot up directly from the tuber. The stems for leaves are usually about 6 centimeters tall.
The leaves often have cool patterns or different colors on them. Scientists think these patterns might be a type of natural camouflage. This helps the plant blend in and makes it harder for animals to eat them.
Types of Cyclamen
There are many different kinds of Cyclamen plants. Here are some of the species in this group:
- Cyclamen africanum
- Cyclamen alpinum
- Cyclamen balearicum
- Cyclamen cilicium
- Cyclamen colchicum
- Cyclamen coum
- Cyclamen creticum
- Cyclamen cyprium
- Cyclamen elegans
- Cyclamen graecum
- Cyclamen hederifolium
- Cyclamen intaminatum
- Cyclamen libanoticum
- Cyclamen mirabile
- Cyclamen parviflorum
- Cyclamen peloponnesiacumum
- Cyclamen persicum
- Cyclamen pseudibericum
- Cyclamen purpurascens
- Cyclamen repandum
- Cyclamen rohlfsianum
- Cyclamen somalense
Images for kids
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Tuber and roots in genus cyclamen
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A tuber of Cyclamen purpurascens with three floral trunks
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On left C. persicum (without auricles); on right C. hederifolium (with auramen)
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Cyclamen persicum 'Stirling', a cultivar
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C. alpinum
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C. balearicum
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C. coum
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C. coum subsp. caucasicum
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C. coum subsp. elegans, syn. C. elegans
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C. creticum
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C. libanoticum
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C. parviflorum
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C. persicum
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C. pseudibericum
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C. repandum
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C. repandum subsp. rhodense, syn. C. rhodium
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C. africanum
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C. cilicium
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C. colchicum
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C. cyprium
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C. graecum
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C. intaminatum
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C. hederifolium
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C. mirabile
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C. purpurascens
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C. rohlfsianum
See also
In Spanish: Ciclamen para niños
