THE CYCLAMEN. 
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THE CYCLAMEN, ITS VARIETIES AND CULTIVATION. 
The name of this genus is derived from 
the Greek kyclicos, circular ; which term was 
applied to them by Linnaaus, in allusion to 
the circumscription of their leaves, the out- 
line of which, in the majority of the species, 
is more or less round, though not strictly cir- 
cular. The common name is Sow-bread. 
The plants themselves form one of the 
most distinct and pretty groups which are 
brought under cultivation. They are all 
dwarf herbs, having flattened fleshy tubers, 
from which both leaves and blossoms spring 
up, in a more or less dense tuft, according to 
the peculiar habit of the different kinds. 
Sometimes, under good cultivation, the flowers 
preponderate in number over the leaves ; and 
in some cases two or three hundred blooms 
are produced at one time, when the plants are 
strong and in good health. This character is at- 
tained chiefly by the Cyclamen persicum, which 
is the most common of the tender species, the 
most vai'ied in its flowers, and perhaps the 
most beautiful of all. 
The blooms of the Cyclamen family are of 
a most singular form : they are monopetalous ; 
that is, they consist but ot one piece, which is 
made up of a very short tube, by which they 
are united to the flower stalks, and a com- 
paratively large recurved limb, of five seg- 
50. 
ments, which, from their being so deeply 
divided, look like distinct petals ; naturally 
their face would be towards the earth, but the 
segments are bent upwards quite at the base, 
and the effect is, that the entire inner face of 
the corolla is exposed to the eye, while the 
back is as completely hidden. 
THE SPECIES OP CYCLAMEN. 
These are confessedly involved in con- 
siderable confusion, especially the European 
species, though the remarks of the Hon. Mr. 
Fox Strangways have cleared up some doubt- 
ful points. There are about sixteen nominal 
species, of which we find twelve recorded as 
having been introduced into cultivation in this 
country, and of some of these there are dis- 
tinct varieties. The late Dean of Manchester 
took considerable interest in the family of 
Cyclamens, and had, we believe, at the time 
of his death, a quantity of plants procured 
from their foreign habitats, which would 
probably in his hands have served to rec- 
tify errors of nomenclature yet undetected ; 
but these plants are now dispersed. Perhaps, 
among cultivators, there is no one at the pre- 
sent day who has a more extensive acquaint- 
ance with the family of Cyclamens, than Mr. 
Gordon, one of the superintendents in the 
garden of the Horticultural Society. 
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