What does cyclamen mean?
Cyclamen is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the primrose family, native to Europe, North Africa, and western Asia, best known for its distinctive blossoms in which each petal sweeps upward and backward like the wings of a hovering bird. The plants are equally admired for their rounded, heart- or kidney-shaped leaves, often marbled with silvery patterns. In common usage the word most often denotes the florist's cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum), a tender plant sold widely as an indoor pot plant during the colder months, valued because its pink, red, or white flowers last for many weeks in a cool room. Hardy species are also planted outdoors in shaded gardens, where they naturalise readily. The name derives ultimately from the Greek kyklos, meaning circle, a reference to the coiled shape of the plant's twisting flower stems. For gardeners and houseplant enthusiasts alike, cyclamen signals elegant winter colour when little else is in bloom.
nounA genus of Eurasian perennial plants of the primrose family (Primulaceae), grown for their attractive heart-shaped leaves and upswept pink, red, or white flowers. The word also refers to any individual plant of this genus.
- Any plant of the genus Cyclamen, prized for its heart-shaped patterned leaves and reflexed pink, purple, or white flowers.
- A florist's cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum) sold as a houseplant, especially in winter.
"A pot of cyclamen brightened the windowsill through the dark weeks of winter."
"She tucked a few hardy cyclamen beneath the beech tree, where their silver-marbled leaves caught the winter light."
"The florist recommended a cyclamen for the coffee table, since it blooms for months in a cool room."
The anglicised plural 'cyclamens' is standard in general usage; the classical plural 'cyclamina' appears mainly in formal botanical writing.
"Hardy cyclamens spread slowly under deciduous trees, seeding themselves year after year."
The cyclamen's flower stalk coils into a spiral as the seed pod ripens, screwing the seeds down into the soil like a tiny spring-loaded drill.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cyclamen
Cyclamen comes to English from Latin, which took the name from Greek kyklaminos, derived from kyklos, meaning circle or wheel — a nod to the spiral the flower stems form as they bend over the ripening seed pods. The word entered English botanical use in the sixteenth century as Renaissance herbals described Mediterranean plants. It shares this circular root with words such as cycle, bicycle, and encyclopedia, all ultimately tracing back to the same Greek term for a wheel or ring.
How cyclamen is actually used
Cyclamen is used almost entirely in horticultural and botanical contexts. In everyday speech it refers most often to the potted florist's cyclamen sold in garden centres and supermarkets in autumn and winter. Gardeners distinguish 'hardy' outdoor species from the tender florist's varieties. The plural is usually 'cyclamens', though the Latinate plural 'cyclamina' also appears in botanical writing.
Easily confused with cyclamen
Chrysanthemums are autumn-flowering composite plants with daisy-like blooms, whereas cyclamen is a Primulaceae plant with butterfly-shaped upswept petals on slender stems.