Cyclamen 2013

[Melvyn Jope]

A Forumist on the NARGS Forum is trying to find information on the history of Cyclamen hederifolium "Ian White" form, a rather nice white hederifolium. None of my literature gives any information, can anyone help please and I'll pass it on?

Ian White was an active member of the Cyclamen Society about 30 years ago, he shared time on his passion for cyclamen with cycling and eventually cycling took all his spare time  I still grow Ian's selection but don't have any photos, it was selected for its long arrow shaped leaf with very good markings and has white flowers

[Melvyn Jope]

Many thanks Steve. As I noted I have 3 plants obtained as subsp. anatolicum ( 2 from Peter Moore & 1 from Pat Nichols) all supposedly from the same population in  Rhodes.  They are similar in leaf pattern - though not in colour - but differ markedly in flower shape. Hence my sceptical view of the supposed subspecies. How are they to be distinguished?

Gerry I am not sure that you will find my response on Cyclamen graecum subspecies anatolicum very helpful and it is very much a personal view based on plants observed in Greece.
When Peter and I considered the Greek species in our booklet we decided to go with the latest thinking on nomenclature. Whilst one can follow the geographic location description re Monte Smith plants and use the name C. g. subsp anatolicum I think the plants are very variable on this site.If you observe plants at the top of the escarpment they are very different from those growing under the trees on the lower part of the site. If Peter and Pat say the plants originated from that source that would be good enough for me as they are both very experienced growers of Cyclamen graecum and can certainly get the plants to flower much better than I can. I believe you can see some plants in cultivation and make a considered guess that the plants have originated from Monte Smith but if you don't know the source of the plant I believe it's impossible to say from any part of the plant whether it is C. graecum subspecies anatolicum or C. graecum subspecies graecum. So I would be inclined to lump them together just as C.graecum . Having said that I do think C.graecum subspecies candicum is rather different in both leaf and flower.

[Gerry Webster]

Melvyn - thanks for this. It's interesting  to hear that plants from Monte Smith are very variable - my 3 plants are certainly variable in flower morphology.  Moreover, of the two plants  which are  in flower at the moment (the third is always much later), one  is strongly scented  while the other seems to be devoid of scent. None of my other plants of C. graecum has any scent that I can detect.

[David Nicholson]

Ian White was an active member of the Cyclamen Society about 30 years ago, he shared time on his passion for cyclamen with cycling and eventually cycling took all his spare time  I still grow Ian's selection but don't have any photos, it was selected for its long arrow shaped leaf with very good markings and has white flowers

Many thanks for that Melvyn, I'll pass it on.

[johnw]

Here today my oldest Cyclamen graecum from the Cyclamen Society 1985 seedex.

johnw

[David Nicholson]

A venerable pensioner!  The tuber I mean John, not you

[Gerry Webster]

Cyclamen  graecum f. album

Derived from the original introduction by Ronald & Erna  Frank (1980)

[David Nicholson]

Another venerable one. The plant I mean, not you Gerry. That's not to say that you're not venerable Gerry. Give up digging David, you're going to bury yourself!

[David Nicholson]

Ian White was an active member of the Cyclamen Society about 30 years ago, he shared time on his passion for cyclamen with cycling and eventually cycling took all his spare time  I still grow Ian's selection but don't have any photos, it was selected for its long arrow shaped leaf with very good markings and has white flowers

Melvyn, the USA based grower of the plant in question grew her plant from seed and I've pointed out that it can't be called "Ian White form" but here are her pics of the flowers and the leaves and I wondered if you would give an opinion please as to how close they are to the original plant.

[Melvyn Jope]

David, the pattern on the leaf looks about right at this stage but as the leaves look immature  it would be easier to make a judgement when they are fully developed. When the leaves on my plant are fully developed I will post a picture for comparison.

[David Nicholson]

Melvyn, many thanks for that.

[Gerry Webster]

Another venerable one. The plant I mean, not you Gerry. That's not to say that you're not venerable Gerry. Give up digging David, you're going to bury yourself!

We are both venerable David - elder statesmen in fact (not the plants)

[Mark Griffiths]

I remember seeing the original Glyfada (sp?). Apparently part of the tuber had rotted and they used a pressure hose to remove those parts.

Here are some intaminatum. The "pinkish" one turned up I think in the plunge and was always a mystery because appart from the fairly reliable plain leaves white one the only other plants I had were tiny patterend leaved white ones that never did much - so where this vigourous pinking, pattern leaved one came from I didn't know. Curiously this year I found it had produced a seedling, again in the plunge.

The white ones are the "common" unpatterned leaf form. I put some seedlings out in a trough which has a 39 yo D. arbuscula in it.

[David Nicholson]

Now I know The Cyclamen Society Web Site isn't the most upto date site in the world but can anyone tell me please if the Jill White, based in Essex, (and included on the Society's "Sources of Plants and Seeds" page) is still in business?

[Mark Griffiths]

David, I don't know. She used to advertise in the Cyclamen Society bulletin but I can't see any ad in the last one.