C Y C L 
that the feveral varieties conneft the plants which have 
angular leaves with thofe which have round ones fo in¬ 
timately, that limits are aflrgrted to them with difficulty. 
Mr. Curtis is of opinion, that Linnaeus, in having only 
two fpecies, makes too few; and that Miller, on the 
contrary, in giving eight l'pecies, is perhaps too profufe : 
we have followed the Kew catalogue. The firft fort has 
plane orbicular leaves, with fliort weak petioles, their 
under fide is very red in the beginning of winter, but 
that colour goes off in the fpring; their upper tide is 
fmooth, of a lucid green, and fpread flat open; whereas 
the other forts are hollowed, and reflex at the bafe. The 
flowers are very bright purple, and appearing in the 
middle of winter, when there are few other flowers, this 
plant is the more valuable. Native of the foutlr of Europe. 
Cyclamen purpurafcens, No. 2, of Miller, may perhaps 
be a variety of this. The leaves are large, orbicular, 
and heart-fliaped at their bafe, of a purple colour on their 
under fide. The leaves and flowers come up from the 
root at the fame time : the latter are of a purplifh colour, 
and their bottoms of a deep red. It flowers late in au¬ 
tumn, and is rare in England. It requires protection in 
winter. 
Cyclamen orbiculatum, No. 5, of Miller, may proba¬ 
bly be another variety. It has a fmall irregular root, not 
larger than a nutmeg; the leaves are orbicular and fmall: 
the flowers fmall, flefh-coloured, with purple bottoms. 
They appear in autumn, but rarely produce feeds in 
England. 
2. Cyclamen Europaeum, or common cyclamen : leaves 
orbicular, cordate, crenate. Root tuberous, oblately 
fpheroidal, white within, brown without; hence pro¬ 
ceeds, within the ground, a very fliort ftem, and from 
that the leaves and one-flowered peduncles or fcapes. 
Leaves kidney-form, roundifh, very blunt, (lightly cre- 
nulate, deep green and fpotted above, beneath commonly 
red-purple, fmooth, on very long round red petioles. 
Peduncles like the petioles, ereCt in the flower, fpiral in 
the fruit. Flowers drooping, fvveet-feented, purple. 
Capfule coriaceous, purple, opening firft at the top, and 
then entirely. Seeds large, rufous, kidney-form. Native 
of Auflria ; cultivated in 1596 by Gerarde. 
3. Cyclamen Perficum, or Perfian cyclamen: leaves 
oblong-ovate, cordate, crenate. LeaVes ftilf, on ftrong 
flefhy petioles, near fix inches long, of a purple colour, 
as are alfo the veins of the leaves underneath ; but the 
upper fide is veined and marbled with white. The co¬ 
rolla is pure white with a bright purple bottom ; but it 
varies in colour, and is fometimes entirely white : this 
variety fmells very fweet. It flowers in March and April, 
and the feeds ripen in Auguft. By its name it fliould be 
a native of Eerfia; according to Mr. Curtis, it comes 
from the Eaft Indies; and from the Kew catalogue we 
learn, that it was found by Dr. John Sibthorp in the 
ifland of Cyprus. It flowers early in the fpring, and is 
admirably adapted to decorate the parlour or ftudy. It 
varies with fragrant flowers ; and with the eye more or 
lefs red. 
Cyclamen vernale, the vernal cyclamen, of Miller, 
No. 4, has large, angular, heart-fhaped, leaves, entire 
about the edges; they are veined and marbled with white, 
on the upper fide, and ftand upon pretty long petioles : 
the flowers are large, of a pale purple colour, with a 
bright red or purple bottom. They appear in March 
and April, and the feeds ripen in Auguft. It is com¬ 
monly called Perfian cyclamen. 
4. Cyclamen hederaefolium, or ivy-leaved cyclamen : 
leaves cordate, angular, toothletted. Root large,, orbi¬ 
cular, comp re fled. Leaves numerous, on petioles fix or 
feven inches long ; the leaves are marked with black in 
the middle ; the flowers appear before them, on long 
flefhy fcapes, in Auguft or September. Soon after, the 
leaves come out, continue growing all the winter and 
- (bring till May, when they begin to decay ; in June they 
A M E N. 607 
are entirely dried tip,. After the flowers are fallen, the 
peduncles twift up like a ferew, inclofing the germ in 
the center, and lie clofe to the ground among the leaves, 
which ferve as a protection to the feed, which ripens in 
June. There are two varieties of this : one with a white 
and the other with a purplifh flower. Native of Italy; cul¬ 
tivated by Gerarde, in 1596. Ray found it iivthe neigh¬ 
bourhood of Rome abundantly, flowering in September- 
5. Cyclamen Indicum, or Ceylon cyclamen: border of 
the corolla nodding. U ndoubtedly a fpecies of cyclamen, 
as the root, cordate crenate leaves, flowers, and fcapes, 
abundantly prove. It differs only in having the divifions 
of the corolla not reflected, but hanging down; and the 
whole corolla being much larger than in the European 
fpecies. Native of the ifland of Ceylon. 
Propagation and Culture. All the forts are propagated 
by feeds, which fliould be fown foon after they are ripe, 
in boxes or pots filled with light kitchen-garden earth, 
mixed with a little land, and covered about half an inch 
deep, placing them where they may have only the morn¬ 
ing fun till tine beginning of September, when they may 
be removed to a warmer expofure. Thofe of the firft, 
fecond, and fourth, forts, may be plunged into the ground 
clofe to a fouth wall, a pale, or reed hedge, in October, 
where, if it fhould be very fevere froft, it will be pro¬ 
per to cover them either with mats or peafe-haulm, but 
in common winters they will not require any covering. 
The pots or tubs in which the Perfian fort is fawn, fliould 
then be placed under a common hot-bed frame, where 
they may be protected from froft and hard rains, but in 
mild weather the glaffes may be taken off every day to 
admit frefli air to them. The fourth fort will come up 
about Chriftmas, if the feeds were fown in Auguft, and 
their leaves will continue green till May ; and thofe of 
the Perfian fort will come up early in the fpring, and 
continue green till June, when they will begin to decay; 
then they fhould be removed to an eaft afpeCt, where 
they will have only the morning fun, in which fituation 
they may remain till the middle of Auguft ; during which 
time they fhould have very little water, for then the 
roots are in an inactive date, when much wet will rot 
them. The pots and tubs in which they are fown, muft 
be conftantly kept clean from weeds; for, if the weeds 
are permitted to grow, their roots will clofely entangle 
with thofe of the cyclamen, fo that in pulling out the 
weeds, the other roots will be drawn out with them. 
In the beginning of October, there fhould be fome frefh 
earth fpread over the tubs or pots, which fliould be re¬ 
moved again info (belter, in the fame manner as before; 
and the following fummer they muft be managed alfo in 
the fame way till their leaves decay, when they fliould 
be carefully taken up, and thofe of the firft, fecond, and 
fourth, forts, placed in.a warm border at three or, four 
inches diftance, but the other fort muft be planted in 
pots to be fheltered in winter. 
The Perfian fort is more impatient of cold and wet 
than th.e others; this muft conftantly be preferved in 
pots filled with Candy light earth, or a mixture of loam 
and lime-rubbifh, and houfed in winter, but fliould be 
placed near the glaffes, where the plants may enjoy as 
much free open air as poflible,, when the weather will 
permit; for, if they are crowded under other plants, and 
are kept too clofe, they are very fubjeeb to mould and 
rot; nor fliould they have much water in winter, which 
is alfo very injurious to them; but, whenever they want 
water, it fhould be given them fparingly. I11 fummer, 
thefe plants may be expofed to the open air, when their 
green leaves will decay; at which time you fliould re¬ 
move them to a place where they may have the morning 
fun until eleven o’clock; but, during the time that the 
roots are dellitute of leaves, they fliould have very little 
water given them, becaui'e at that feafon they are not 
capable of difeharging the moifture. This is alfo the 
proper feafon to tranfplant the roots, or to frefli earth 
them 2 
