Cyclamen coum
| Cyclamen coum | |
|---|---|
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| A form with plain leaves at an estate in Dorset, England | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Primulaceae |
| Genus: | Cyclamen |
| Subgenus: | Gyrophoebe |
| Series: | Pubipedia |
| Binomial name | |
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Cyclamen coum Mill. |
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Cyclamen coum, the eastern sowbread, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Cyclamen (subgenus Gyrophoebe series Pubipedia). It is a tuberous herbaceous perennial, growing to 5–8 cm (2–3 in), 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.
The species name coum more likely refers to Koa or Quwê (an ancient region in eastern Cilicia, now part of Armenia and southeastern Turkey), which is part of the species' natural range, than to the island of Kos, where the species does not grow.
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.
The tuber produces roots from the center of the bottom only. It remains small, only reaching about 6.5 cm (2.6 in) across.
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.
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