Cyclamen mirabile - named after the red/pink colouration of the young leaves was until the mid 1970s regarded as a great novelty. It had first been collected by the Dutch bulb company van Tubergen in 1901 and unfortunately the original plants were soon lost. Even the dried herbarium specimen in Berlin was destroyed in the second world war. Peter Davis and Oleg Polunin collected one tuber in 1956 and then rather more in 1965. It remained rare until it started turning up in large numbers among the dried tubers collected in Turkey. In the mid 80s I bought four dried "Cyclamen hederifolium" tubers from a large retail chain, two turned out to be C.cilicium and two were C.mirabile (you can see them below, the original plants are still with me twenty years later). Now C.mirabile is fairly easily obtained from specialist dealers and seed exchanges. On the subject of the leaf colouration, it should be noted that not all plants have the red/pink leaf markings and that the colouration generally fades as the leaf matures. Peter More of Tilebarn has taken in various unusual leaf and flower forms and line bred others so there are now some very fine forms in cultivation. Tilebarn Nicholas has striking pink, then silver leaf markings, Tilebarn Anne which has entirely pink then pewter leaves and Tilebarn Jan with white flowers. In the Northern hemisphere this plant starts to flower just after C.hederifolium, mid September through to October/November.
After having had my original plants outside under a cherry tree for a number of years I would again attempt the standard forms and possibly Tilebarn Nicholas outside in a dry semi shaded area where there is little other plant competition. I find Tilebarn Jan and Anne a little more difficult so I tend to keep them in the greenhouse.
The plant is similar to C.cilicum but generally:
Please click on the thumbnails for the full sized pictures.
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