The word "cyclamen" derives from the Greek word kyklamenos which means "circle form" and when you look at the shape of a cyclamen corm, it is easy to believe, that it was named for this. Cyclamen have been in cultivation since Platos time, several hundred years B.C.
There are 20 species of Cyclamen, their native range is in the northern Mediterranean region extending from southern France, east to Greece, Turkey, to the Caucasus Mountains and some locations in N.Africa.
The genus Cyclamen has been classified in the Primulaceae family but has recently been reclassified in the family Myrsinaceae. The specie hederifolium is named for it's ivy-like leaf form, Hedera the genus for ivy and folium or foliage.
Cyclamen hederifolium has also gone under the name Cyclamen neapolitanum in many horticulture publications and some nursery designations.
Cyclamen hederifolium is probably the widest spread cyclamen specie and the most hardy. It's natural habitat is in woodlands, scrub land (chaparral), and rocky hillsides from sea level to 4,262 ft (1300m). It is well adapted to wet winters and long dry summers.
