Autumn Cyclamen

 




When the lovely pink flowers of Cyclamen hederafolium appear it's near the end of summer and the beginning of autumn.  As the flowers fade the leaves appear.  They are ivy-shaped, from which the Latin word 'hederafolium' comes:  Hedera = ivy and folium = leaf.  They have beautiful silvery markings on them which vary from plant to plant.  They provide interesting ground cover throughout autumn and winter.  In spring the leaves die back and the corm beneath the soil lies dormant until the following autumn.  

I was given a few corms by my father who was fond of cyclamen.  Now they are all over my garden.  The seeds, found in round cases at the end of a coiled stem, are spread by ants who are attracted by their sweet sticky covering and carry them away.  

Watch out for Cyclamen coum, the late winter/early spring flowering variety!




Comments

  1. Gardens, galleries and walking about9 September 2023 at 09:18

    Cyclamen hederafolium are lovely, as are all cyclamen; they seem to be surviving the extreme heat well, because they have a corm I expect.

    ReplyDelete

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