Cyclamen persicum, the Persian cyclamen, is a species of flowering herbaceous perennial plant growing from a tuber, native to rocky hillsides, shrubland, and woodland up to 1,200 m (3,900 ft) above sea level, from south-central Turkey to the Levant. Cultivars of this species are the commonly seen florist's cyclamen. Due to their native habitat (North Africa and the eastern part of the Mediterranean,) the flower thrives best in a climate and temperatures common in this region: summers which are hot and dry and winters which are wet and cool. In spite of their name, which means "from Persia," they are not actually from Persia.
