The Journal, published in June and December, is usually about 30 pages long and contains articles about plants in the wild and in cultivation. There is a mix of serious articles, and 'chat' about members experiences. Each issue also contains colour illustrations which are either photographs of Cyclamen in the wild, or commissioned botanical paintings. Details of the seed distribution (species listed etc.) accompany the June Journal.

As an example of what the journal contains, click here for Contents Listings of the last few issues, or here for an Index to Volumes 1-23 (1977-1999).

The editor, Chris Clennett, welcomes articles for the journal, and can be contacted by email editor@cyclamen.org

The Seed Distribution

Seed is distributed beginning in late Summer; the best time to ensure absolutely fresh seed which will germinate rapidly and well. The June edition of the journal contains a listing of about 60 different categories of seed including all the species (except C. somalense) in diverse flower colour and leaf forms, plus both large and small persicum cultivars. There is also a separate listing of seed harvested from plants collected on the Society's expeditions.

Members are entitled to a basic allocation of seed from the general list, and may purchase additional seed both from the general list and from the expedition plants. Any seed remaining is offered at a reduced cost in the December journal.

To find out How the Seed Distribution Works click here.

Panel of Experts

A panel of experts is available to answer questions about any aspect of Cyclamen.

Library

The Society has a library from which items may be borrowed, the only cost being return postage.

Slide Library

The Society maintains a library of slides (35mm transparencies) of Cyclamen which are available to lecturers for a small fee. Regretably, transparencies taken during Society expeditions are not available for loan.

Shows & Conferences

Exhibits are staged in the UK at the Royal Horticultural Society's New Hall, Westminster, London, and the Society has been awarded a large number of medals by the RHS. The Society also holds competitive shows in the Spring and Autumn and these are open to all members.

The Society usually holds an annual conference in October. Although this is generally a weekend conference held in the UK, in 1996 a very successful conference took place for a week on the Greek island of Crete.

Research & Exploration

In addition to the various activities in the UK, the Society also carries out expeditions to study the plants in their native habitats, mapping distribution and gathering statistical data about leaf shapes, sizes and patterns, and flower colours and petal shapes and sizes. The results are reported in the Journal. Some plants are collected for scientific studyand to introduce new geneticmaterial into cultivation. Seed harvested from them is available to members through the annual distribution. These introductions are carried out strictly within the C.I.T.E.S. licensing controls, and the expeditions are backed by botanical institutions and the relevant government departments within the countries concerned.

The Society initially concentrated on Cyclamen coum in Turkey and Israel and some good horticultural forms have been introduced including C. coum f. albissimum, which was collected on the Golan Heights. A form of this has been selected, propagated, and distributed under the variatel name 'Golan Heights'. Subsequently, the Society has studied the 'repandum group' of species (C. repandum in its sub-species rhodense and peloponnesiacum, and C. creticum) on the Greek islands of Rhodes and Kos, the Peloponnese, and Crete. In 1997, 1998 and 1999 the Society sent expeditions to south-east Turkey to study Cyclamen trochopteranthum. Further expeditions are planned to study C. intaminatum, C. pseudibericum, C. mirabile, C. coum in Georgia, and C. coum ssp. elegans.

Registration Authority

The Cyclamen Society is the International Registration Authority for cultivars of all species of Cyclamen except those of C. persicum.

Publications

The Cyclamen Society has embarked on a long term project to produce an illustrated book which will pull together the knowledge held by members and include the findings of the Society's research and expeditions, and will shortly publish booklets on 'The Cyclamen of Turkey' and 'The Cyclamen of Greece'. These booklets will be published both in English and Turkish or Greek.

The Society also has a short list of publications for sale, including past issues of the journal.

How to join the Cyclamen Society

If you would like to join, you should complete and print out the Membership Application Form and send it together with your annual subscription to the Membership Secretary:

Arthur Nicholls,
The Cyclamen Society
'Little Orchard',
Church Road,
West Kingsdown,
Kent. TN15 6LG
United Kingdom.

Annual Subcriptions Rates

From 1st January, 1999 the subscription rates have been (and are currently for 2006):

Payment

Paying subscriptions economically is a problem for many of our overseas members. There are a number of alternative ways: a Sterling cheque or bank draft issued by any bank with a branch in the UK (the cheque should bear the address of the UK branch), or by sending Sterling or US Dollar notes (calculating the equivalent at the current exchange rate). You could also send a subscription by Girobank, but we regret that this will increase the subscription by three pounds (which is what it now costs to clear a Giro payment in the UK). We are very sorry to say that at present we are not able to accept payment of membership fees by credit card, as this is very costly to set up. Some members also send several years subscription at once to reduce annual costs. We hope that one of these possibilities will be suitable for you.
The Society is now able to accept cheques drawn on U.S. and European banks provided they are made out in U.S. dollars or Euros (respectively). It must be stressed that they cannot be accepted if showing values in Pound Sterling.
We regret that we are no longer able to accept Eurocheques.

If you have any queries about membership, or how payment can be made, you can email the Cyclamen Society Membership Secretary membership@cyclamen.org