Cyclamen tubers

Cyclamen is a genus in the subfamily Myrsinoideae of the Primulaceae family. This page is devoted to Cyclamen tubers. Tubers of the different species vary in size, shape, texture, and where they root. Below is a table of photos with most of the tubers on a grid of 1 cm squares followed by a summary of the characteristics for a quick comparison.

Cyclamen tubers
Cyclamen africanum	Cyclamen balearicum	Cyclamen cilicium	Cyclamen coum	Cyclamen creticum
Cyclamen cyprium	Cyclamen × drydeniae	Cyclamen graecum	Cyclamen graecum	Cyclamen graecum
Cyclamen hederifolium	Cyclamen mirabile	Cyclamen persicum	Cyclamen persicum	Cyclamen pseudibericum
Cyclamen purpurascens	Cyclamen repandum	Cyclamen repandum	Cyclamen rohlfsianum

Cyclamen africanum tubers are depressed-globose, often hollowed above, to 14 cm (5.5 in) and when mature rough and corky or flaky. Roots form all over the surface. Photo from Mary Sue Ittner of a tuber on a 1 cm grid.

Cyclamen alpinum tubers are depressed-globose to 5 cm (2 in), sometimes larger and are brown, smooth and velvety when mature and root from the center of the base.

Cyclamen balearicum Willk. tubers are depressed-globose, up to 3 cm (1.2 in) with a smooth surface and thin greyish brown skin and root from the center of the base of the tuber. Photo below from Mary Sue Ittner of the tuber on a 1 cm grid.

Cyclamen cilicium tubers are small and depressed-globose (up to 5.2 cm, 2 in, often smaller), smooth and velvety at maturity and root from under the base. Photo from Mary Sue Ittner of a tuber on a 1 cm grid.

Cyclamen colchicum tubers are irregular, nobby when mature and root unevenly over the sides and base.

Cyclamen coum tubers are rounded in outline and compressed, to 6.5 cm (2.6 in), with a smooth and velvety coat and root from the center of the base. Photos by Mary Sue Ittner of tubers on a 1 cm grid.

Cyclamen creticum tubers are depressed globose to 4 cm (1.6 in), smooth with thin grey brown skin and root from the center of the base. Photo taken by Mary Sue Ittner of a tuber laid on a 1 cm grid. The tuber doesn't have many roots, but looks like it roots on the side instead of the base.

Cyclamen cyprium tubers are subglobose to 10 cm (4 in) with rough greyish skin when mature and root from the base, nearly always on one side. Photo from Mary Sue Ittner of a tuber on a 1 cm grid.

Cyclamen × drydeniae tuber and seed photo on a 1 cm grid. Photo by Mary Sue Ittner.

Cyclamen graecum tubers are globose and fleshy, up to 30 cm (12 in) in diameter, becoming rough, corky and fissured when mature, and rooting from the center of the base. Photos below show tubers can get even bigger. There are two kinds of roots, fine and fibrous, and thick, fleshy, and thong-like anchor roots. The first photo from John Lonsdale shows the stem on an reawakening tuber and the second the fibrous roots. The other photographs by Stavroula Ventouri and Stavros Apostolou are of tubers growing in Arcadia on the Peloponnese peninsula close to the sea. The largest weighed at least 17.5 kg with a height of 23 cm and a circumference of 99 cm. The full story may be read in International Rock Gardener, December 2014.

Cyclamen graecum ssp. anatolicum photo from Mary Sue Ittner shows a tuber on a 1 cm grid and illustrates the anchor roots.

Cyclamen hederifolium tubers are depressed-globose, often flat above and can become as large as 34 cm (14 in) and corky and fissured with age and root mainly from the shoulders and sides. Photos from John Lonsdale show tubers.

Cyclamen intaminatum tubers are small and depressed-globose to 3.5 cm (1.4 in) and larger in cultivated plants, smooth and velvety at maturity and root from the center of the base.

Cyclamen libanoticum tubers are subglobose to depressed globose, velvety brown when young, corky and fissured when mature, to 4.5 cm (1.8 in) and root mostly from the center of the base.

Cyclamen mirabile tubers are depressed-globose and to 6 cm (2.3 in), rarely larger, corky and fissured when mature, and rooting from the lower surface. Photo from Mary Sue Ittner shows the "rarely larger" tuber on a 1 cm grid.

Cyclamen parviflorum Pobed. tubers are globose to depressed globose, 3 cm (1.2 in), sometimes larger, smooth, brown and velvety when mature and root from the center of the base.

Cyclamen persicum tubers are depressed-globose with a rough corky surface when mature. They root from the lower surface and can grow to 15 cm (6 in) in diameter. Photos from Mary Sue Ittner show tubers on a 1 cm grid.

Cyclamen pseudibericum tubers are subglobose to depressed globose to 7 cm (2.8 in) and are smooth when young becoming corky and fissured with age and root from the base. Photo of a tuber on a 1 cm grid was taken by Mary Sue Ittner.

Cyclamen purpurascens tubers are rounded, becoming knobbly as they age to 6 cm (2.3 in) across and root from all over the sides and base. The photo below by Giorgio Pozzi illustrates plants with a tuber that is partly out of the ground. The second photo from Erutuon of a photo under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Cyclamen repandum Sm. tubers are depressed-globose to 6 cm (2.3 in) or larger, velvety and deep chestnut brown but corky with age, rooting from the center of the lower surface. Photos by Mary Sue Ittner shows different sized tubers on a 1 cm grid.

Cyclamen rohlfsianum tubers are round when young, becoming uneven and knobbly with age, eventually to 20 cm (8 in) with a corky surface, rooting irregularly from the lower sides, occasionally from the base. Photos 1 was taken by Dylan Hannon showing the top of the tuber with the fruit with pedicels coiling from the base upwards. The second photo from Mary Sue Ittner shows the tuber on a 1 cm grid.

Cyclamen somalense tubers are subglobose becoming irregular with age, from 3 cm (1.2 in) to 6 cm (2.3 in) with 2-3 rounded to oblong swellings. They are covered in corky skin and root from the base of the tuber.