Morphological characterization of Cyclamen sp. grown naturally in Turkey: Part I

• Twenty Cyclamen taxa (Primulaceae): origin is the Mediterranean.
• Ten Cyclamen species grow naturally in Turkey, five of which are endemic.
• Fifty samples of 4 Cyclamen species (C. persicum, C. cilicium, C. pseudibericum, C. coum) were used.
• Morphology characterized by 27 phenotypic characters (13 flower, 11 leaf, 2 plant, 1 tuber).
• PCA allowed for species-specific clustering.

Twenty cyclamen taxa belonging to the Primulaceae originate from the Mediterranean region and grow under trees and bushes. There are 10 cyclamen species growing naturally in Turkey, five of which are endemic. In this study, intact cyclamen plants were collected from nature with their tubers intact. Collection took place in spring and autumn in Adana, Osmaniye, Kahramanmaraş, İzmir and Eskişehir provinces, 50 samples per location. Sampled plants were propagated and cultivated in Adana. The morphology of four Cyclamen species (C. persicum Mill., C. cilicium Boiss.e.Heldr., C. pseudibericum Hildebr. and C. coum Mill.) was characterized using 1-year-old regenerated plants. A total of 27 phenotypic characters (13 flower, 11 leaf, 2 plant, 1 tuber) were evaluated based on a detailed descriptor's list. In addition to these morphological observations, 13 quantitative traits (7 flower, 5 leaf, 1 tuber) were measured. The measurements related to morphological characteristics had a wide range of variation, including in tuber diameter, leaf length and width, petal length, petal color, and leaf shape, indicating the vast morphological differences among these four cyclamen species. In most cases, the use of principal component analysis confirmed the grouping of characters into species-specific clusters although one or two clusters could not differentiate species, indicating that morphological and cluster analyses alone are not enough for characterizing this complex Cyclamen germplasm and that molecular techniques may reveal more intricate and useful relationships.