Cyclamen purpurascens

Cyclamen purpurascens, the Alpine, European or purple cyclamen, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Cyclamen of the family Primulaceae, native to central Europe, northern Italy, and Slovenia. It is a tuberous perennial with (usually) variegated leaves, and deep pink flowers in summer.

 

C. purpurascens blooms from summer to autumn, keeps its leaves through the winter, and produces seeds and new leaves the next summer.

Tuber

Flowers and leaves come from buds at the top of a round-flattened tuber. Roots come from the sides and bottom. Older tubers may become distorted, forming "fingers" with separate growth points.[5] Misshapen tubers are also found in Cyclamen rohlfsianum.

Flowers

Flowers appear before or with the leaves, and have 5 upswept petals. Flowers are sweetly scented, ranging in color from pale rose-pink to purple or rose-carmine and are 17 to 25 mm (0.67 to 0.98 in) long. Petals are elliptical and twisted, often curled into auricles, although less prominent than those of Cyclamen hederifolium. Forma "album" has white flowers, though it is more difficult to establish. 'Lake Garda' has silver leaves and pink flowers.[1]

This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Leaves

Leaves are kidney-shaped to heart-shaped, as wide as long or wider. The leaf edge is smooth or slightly toothed, unlike the closely related species Cyclamen colchicum, which is always prominently toothed. Leaf color varies from all-green to all-silver, but the most common pattern is green with light green to silver marbling that roughly follows the outline of the leaf. The underside is red-purple. Because of the cool and moist climate in the plant's native range, it is almost evergreen: new leaves appear in summer while the old leaves are fading. All other cyclamens, except for the closely related Cyclamen colchicum, are summer-dormant in their native range.

Fruit

After fertilization, the flower stem coils tightly, starting at the end. Seeds, amber when ripe, are held in a round pod, which ripens the summer a year after flowering and opens by 5-10 flaps.

 

Cyclamen purpurascens - Wikipedia