Cyclamen coum f. coum ‘Mary’s Skylark’

C. coum subsp. coum f. coum ‘Mary’s Skylark’ was registered on 13 November 2023 by Mary Saunders.  Based in Devon in the United Kingdom, Mary has been developing this cultivar since the 1980’s.

She has been growing the cultivar for 40 years and as a result it produces 75 to 80% progeny true to type.  Mary first became interested in cyclamen during the late 70’s and early 80’s and grew many cyclamen in her parent’s garden in Devon.  These upward flowering coum were discovered amongst the many growing in their gardens during the late 80’s and she has grown them on over the years to produce the colours one sees today.  Otherwise, their origin is unknown.

Mary has also been responsible for raising C. coum subsp. coum f. albissimum ‘George Bisson’ and in the same way as she did with that cultivar years ago, she plans to donate seeds when she has them to the Cyclamen Society seed distribution as well as send or give plants to people to be grown on.

Description

The main distinguishing character of this new cultivar are its upward facing flowers, reminiscent of the Cyclamen hederifolium cultivar ‘Stargazer’. The flower colour can be pink, white, or magenta with a basal blotch. One f. albissimum variant has appeared amongst the seedlings but this has not yet been stabilised. The leaves on ‘Mary’s Skylark’ are unremarkable, being “typical C. coum”.