Genus Cyclamen: Science, cultivation, art and culture

Description

This book is a celebration of cyclamen, a genus of only 23 species popular amongst gardeners, growers, botanists and enthusiasts alike. Native to parts of Europe, western Asia and parts of North Africa; cyclamen are also highly cultivated plants. Genus Cyclamen covers the botany of all taxa, including taxonomic description, flowering period, distribution and habitat based on scientific studies and fieldwork by cyclamen experts. Information is provided on cyclamen cultivation and propagation, with dedicated sections on cultivation in North America, Japan and Australasia. Other chapters cover the history of cyclamen, including a review of its use in botanical art from 1st Century AD to present, cyclamen in literature, and the use of cyclamen in ceramics, pottery, glassware, stamps, jewellery and postcards.

Brian Mathew is an Honorary Research Fellow at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and previously a plant taxonomist at Kew where he was a specialist in petaloid monocotyledons and flora of the Middle East. He is former editor of Curtis's Botanical Magazine and has authored many publications, including Cyclamen of Turkey, (The Cyclamen Society, 2001), Bulbs - The Four Seasons (Pavilion, 1998) and Growing Bulbs (Batsford, 1997).

'The most important horticultural book to emerge this year' -- Val Bourne