👀 What to see in Railway Fields in October - Cyclamen in sunlit undergrowth

Just opposite the cabin door you can find a clump of white cyclamen popping up out of the ivy. With their papery white petals, these graceful plants are a pretty addition to the undergrowth. 

It is likely that these were planted by a visitor to Railway Fields (not something that is encouraged by TCV in general) a few years ago as cyclamen are not a native species to the UK, more commonly found in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Alternatively seeds, picked up in a neighbouring garden, have been dropped by passing minibeasts. Cyclamen have naturalised across the UK as the plants escape our flower beds and go to live in the wild. Ants, in particular, are partial to the seeds as they are covered in a sweet sticky coating which the ants carry to their nest, effectively replanting them elsewhere to germinate. This is known as myrmecochory.

Look closely and you will see the stems curling downwards with their seeds ready to be taken away. The name cyclamen comes from kuklos (meaning wheel or circle) as the ancient Greeks marvelled at how the flower stems twist into perfect tight spirals to bury their seed pods - this visual loop recalling the eternal wheel of life, death and seasonal re-birth. 

These are probably the hardy white autumn cyclamen known as Ivy-leaved cyclamen Cyclamen hederifolium f. albiflorum.

Cyclamen in Mythology and Folklore

Cyclamen feature heavily in Greek mythology and are symbolically tied to Persephone. The plants emerge in Autumn which Greeks associated with Persephone's annual descent in the Underworld to join her husband in Hades. Their blooms were thought to line her path down into the dark earth. 

See if you can spot a faint pinkish flush at the point where the flower meets the stem when you see them in the wild. On account of this, medieval folklore associated the flush with the sorrow piercing Mary's heart during the crucifixion, and the graceful white flower heads represent Her humility and modesty. Holy spaces in the Mediterranean often plant cyclamens for this reason. 

On a less sacred note, ancient Greeks and Romans believed that cyclamen tubers would cause someone to fall madly in love - NOT RECOMMENDED as raw tubers are highly toxic (saponins) and too many will lead to paralysis and even death.

In Japan, they don't eat cyclamens but it is seen as a sacred flower of love because of the petals look like flickering flames that represent the enduring flame of true love. 

Having cyclamen near the entrance to the cabin at Railway Fields is a good thing, according to folklore, as the cyclamen can absorb negative energy, shield from wicked spells and prevent bad luck from crossing the threshold.

All the more reason to leave them be and enjoy one of the few things that are flowering as this seasons turn.