Ivy-leaved Cyclamen

Cyclamens are members of the Primrose family, and this one is a hardy flowering plant that doesn't lose its leaves in winter.

Species introduction

At a glance
Latin name: 
Cyclamen hederifolium
Family: 
Primroses
Family Latin name: 
Primulaceae
Category: 
Flowering Plants

Species description

Species description

Cyclamens are members of the Primrose family, and this one is a hardy flowering plant that doesn't lose its leaves in winter. It is an established native in southern England, often found in churchyards and cemeteries (although the plant photographed here escaped everyone's attention for several years, only becoming visible after a patch of brambles was lightly cleared). It is originally from the Mediterranean region but has been established in England for perhaps two hundred years.

The shape and patterning of the leaves - resembling the leaves of Common Ivy - gives it its name. A similar species, Cyclamen neapolitanum indicates an Italian origin.

Species photographs

Larger photograph(s) (click to magnify)

Details

Species family information

This is a mainly temperate and cold region family, with many familiar wildflowers and cultivars amongst its members.

Category information

Nucleic multicellular photosynthetic organisms lived in freshwater communities on land as long ago as a thousand million years, and their terrestrial descendants are known from the late Pre-Cambrian 850 million years ago. Embryophyte land plants are known from the mid Ordovician, and land plant structures such as roots and leaves are recognisable in mid Devonian fossils. Seeds seem to have evolved by the late Devonian. The Embryophytes are green land plants that form the bulk of the Earth’s vegetation. They have specialised reproductive organs and nurture the young embryo sporophyte. Most obtain their energy by photosynthesis, using sunlight to synthesise food from Carbon Dioxide and Water.

The earliest known plant group is the Archaeplastida, which were autotrophic. Listing just the surviving descendants, which evolved in turn, we have the Red Algae, the Chlorophyte Green Algae, the Charophyte Green Algae, and then the Embryophyta or land plants. The earliest embryophytes were the Liverworts, followed by the Hornworts, and the Mosses. Then we have the Vascular Plants, the Lycophytes and Ferns, followed by the Spermatophytes or seed plants, the Gnetophytes, Conifers, Ginkgos, and Cycads, and finally the Magnoliophyta (Angiosperms) or flowering plants.

Further information

Cyclamens and the Virgin Mary

The association between this plant and the mother of Jesus is better-known in Mediterranean and Middle East countries than it is in Britain. The flower's bowed head and the immaculate white petals are an obvious link. Red tinges to these petals suggest the Virgin's bleeding heart. Churches would often be decorated with bouquets of cyclamens, and incense was sometimes prepared from the flowers for church use.