''Cyclamen creticum'', commonly known as Cretan sowbread, is a small perennial herb endemic to

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

and

Karpathos Karpathos (, ), also Carpathos, is the second largest of the Greek Dodecanese islands, in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Together with the neighboring smaller Saria Island it forms the municipality of Karpathos, which is part of the regional unit ...

. It is closely related to ''

Cyclamen repandum ''Cyclamen repandum'', the spring sowbread, is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae, native to southern Europe and some Mediterranean islands. It is the most widespread of a group of cyclamens (genus '' Cyclamen'' subgenus '' P ...

'', and both are placed in subgenus ''Psilanthum''. Some authorities consider ''C. creticum'' to be a subspecies of ''C. repandum''.

Etymology

The name of the subgenus, ''Psilanthum'', comes from Ancient Greek: psilós "bare" and ánthos "flower".

Description

''Cyclamen creticum'' is a small plant that grows to heights of about . It is a long-lived perennial herb with a tuberous rootstock. They tend to grow on rocky places, stream and river banks, gullies, or under bushes. Can be described as a tender plant; prefers to grow in the shade protected from the sun. Leaf - Heart-shaped, cordate leaves, often coarsely toothed, of dark-green color with a red-purple back. Cloudy or netted silvery markings can be seen on the leaf. Flower - Within the same species, ''C. creticum'' flowers come in two distinguished forms: Forma ''creticum'' and Forma ''pallide-roseum''. ::Forma ''creticum'' flowers are completely white. ::Forma ''pallide-roseum'' flowers are white to light ::::::::::::pink with an hints of pale pink infused. In its habitat, there is no true demarcation of these two forms. Forma ''creticum'' is by far the more common form. The flowers are hermaphroditic and solitary (not part of an

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

). Strongly fragrant but produces no nectar. The corolla is formed by five petals, which are long and slender with an absence of auricles. Flowers bloom around April to May. Stalk - The stalk is long, thin, and red.

Distribution

''Cyclamen creticum'' is endemic to the Greek Islands of

and

. It is known to grow on two locations in

whereas it is abundantly found all over

, growing at sea level to 1300m.

Reproduction

''Cyclamen creticum'' rarely self-fertilizes due to approach herkogamy, where the stigma is above the level of the anthers. Insect pollinators of ''C. creticum'' include

hoverflies Hoverflies, also called flower flies or syrphids, make up the insect family (biology), family Syrphidae. As their common name suggests, they are often seen Hover (behaviour), hovering or nectaring at flowers; the adults of many species feed main ...

and bumblebees.Thompson, Affre. "Variation in self-fertility, inbreeding depression and levels of inbreeding in four Cyclamen species." Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 12.1 (1999): 113-122. Print.

References

External links

*The Cyclamen Society
''Cyclamen creticum Hildebrand''
* *IPNI Listing
''Cyclamen creticum''
*Kew Plant List
''Cyclamen creticum''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5198112 creticum Endemic flora of Crete