Cyclamen rohlfsianum

Cyclamen rohlfsianum is a species of perennial plant in the family Primulaceae. It is endemic to Libya. It grows from a tuber in shrubland, especially in limestone cracks, up to 450 m (1,500 ft) above sea level. It is one of the tenderest cyclamen species. The plant was discovered by Friedrich Gerhard Rohlfs in 1879, and was named after him in 1897 by Paul Friedrich August Ascherson.

Cyclamen rohlfsianum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Primulaceae
Genus:	Cyclamen
Subgenus:	C. subg. Cyclamen
Species:	C. rohlfsianum
Binomial name
Cyclamen rohlfsianum Asch.
Synonyms
Cyclamen rohlfsianum f. album B.Mathew

Description

Its tubers are round when young, but become irregular with age, with multiple growing points across the surface of the tuber. Cyclamen purpurascens also has irregular older tubers. Its leaves are large, with pointed lobes and prominent ribs, and wider than long. Leaves of Cyclamen hederifolium often have lobes, but are usually longer than wide. its flowers bloom in autumn with the young leaves and have 5 upswept petals, light pink with a darker nose. The stamens and pistil project below the nose, suggesting the shooting stars (Dodecatheon), but unlike any other cyclamen.

Cultivation

Cyclamen rohlfsianum has a longer summer dormancy than many other cyclamen species and flowers best after a hot, sunny summer. In this way it is similar to Cyclamen graecum and Cyclamen africanum.

Gallery

• 
  young leaf
• 
  varied leaf patterns at Tile Barn Nursery

External links

• C. Grey-Wilson. Cyclamen: a guide for gardeners, horticulturists, and botanists. p. 141. Google Books.
• Cyclamen Society
• Gallery of the World's Bulbs — International Bulb Society
• "Cyclamen rohlfsianum". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture.