Photographs: near Baltimore, Co. Cork

Ivy-leaved Cyclamen / Sowbread Cyclamen hederifolium Family: Primulaceae Flowering August-November. Perennial. Introduced garden escape Flowers pale to deep pink with deep purple-magenta markings at base of petal lobes. Appear either before or with ivy-like young leaves. Seeds freely. Leaves are very variable in shape, patterned with grey, cream or green markings. Tubers root from top and sides. The most reliably hardy of the cultivated cyclamen species. infrequently recorded in the wild but naturalised in churchyards and an occasional garden escape or relic of cultivation. Grows in sun or partial shade on humus-rich soil

Ivy-leaved Cyclamen, Cyclamen hederifolium