Cyclamen persicum Whirlygig

 For the past few weeks I've been enjoying a plant of Cyclamen persicum Whirlygig on my desk. It's larger-flowered, and rather pinker than I normally care for in cyclamen, but it's another plant to which I have a connection. The Whirlygig cyclamen originated with a plant spotted by my former colleague Diony de Bont when he was very active in breeding cyclamen with Kees Sahin in the early 1990s: it had expanded, pale calyx lobes that forced the corolla to open flat.  It was a new break and Diony bred from it to create a stabilised line of such plants, in different colours, in which the best have a well-developed calyx that forms a nice contrast with the bright colour of the corolla. They were first introduced to the trade in 2001 and have had moderate sales as a novelty, so to find them offered for £2.99 in the Malton Morrison's supermarket was a pleasant surprise.

In Whirlygigs the calyx has become petaloid and white, though often shows some streaking with colour, as here.