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Cyclamen

Scientific Names


• Cyclamen europaeum L.
• Primrose family

Common Names

Groundbread
Sowbread
Swinebread
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Parts Usually Used

Roots
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Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Cyclamen is a low European perennial plant; the bulbous root sends up long-petioled, leathery, cordate, palmately veined leaves that are dark gray-green with lighter spots on top and reddish underneath.  From June to September the drooping flowers, varying from white through pink to red-violet, appear on naked reddish stems which roll up at seeding time so that the seeds ripen under the protection of the leaves.
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Where Found

Found in the Mediterranean area, the Alps, and other mountain forests.
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Medicinal Properties

Drastic purgative, vermifuge
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Uses

Used popularly by Europeans.  A decoction of the dried bulb is used for dropsy, mucous congestion, colds, flatulence, and intestinal worms.  The powder is used to help heal purulent wounds.
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Warning

Even small doses of cyclamen are poisonous to humans.  Pliny the Elder reported its use as a poison for arrowheads.

Do not use without medical supervision.
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Bibliography

The Herb Book, by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974.

Webster's New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, Victoria Neufeldt, Editor in Chief, New World Dictionaries: A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023, 1984

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