cyclamen graecum Link
With the first rains and the inevitable melancholy of the end of summer, at the edges of the roads, in the crevices of the rocks, among the dry grasses, the first cyclamen emerge. Modestly with their heads bowed as if ashamed to bring such beauty to the dry landscape.
This particular species, the Greek cyclamen, unfolds even greater beauty when the first leaves appear. Their varied shapes and intense colour combinations are truly masterpieces of the species. Botanist Moore says “.... the basic color is deep green but there may be shades from greenish black to grayish green and pale lemon; in stark contrast spots of pale cream, silver, green or gray form improbable patterns. The combinations are so numerous that a collection of different leaves would require a separate study. ”As its name suggests, the species is a Greek endemic, spreading as far as southwestern Turkey. The name of the genus from the Greek circle, a reference to the shape of the wreath or the rotation in perfect circles that the fruiting stem makes after flowering. (The etymology that seems to prevail and attributes the circle to the spherical tuber does not seem very correct to me).
