Cyclamen hederifolium

Cyclamen hederifolium

Cyclamen hederifolium; one of the few plants with a label showing the common name, “Sowbread”. So called as the corms were once fed to pigs in southern Europe. They are however poisonous to humans.

The clump beneath the Elm in front of the alpine wall is in full bloom, showing the variability in the species, both in flower colour and marbling of the leaf; more are represented in the alpine house and beneath the woody plants to the west of the house. Also in the alpine house and Rock Garden is Cyclamen hederifolium ‘Alba’ and a cultivar selected for its foliage ‘Silver Cloud’

Cyclamen intaminatum; a minature species seen through the mesh in the alpine house. Bearing white flowers here but also through to pink in its native Turkey.