Interspecific variation of scent characteristics in the Cyclamen genus and the utility of the variation

Abstract

All the currently available interspecific scented cyclamen were bred by crossing Cyclamen persicum with only a wild species, C.purpurascens. To develop cyclamen with a wider variety of fragrances, we clarified the diversity of volatile compounds emitted from the flowers of 17 wild cyclamen species. We found that 14 of the wild species emitted fragrant compounds. In particular, C. pseudibericum, C. cyprium, C. libanoticum, C. purpurascens, C. cilicium and C. alpinum emitted floral compounds, and C. mirabile emitted fruity compounds. We produced interspecific hybrids between two C. persicum cultivars and C. purpurascens (which emitted the greatest number of volatile compounds) and analysed the scent characteristics of the resulting hybrids. We found that the hybrids varied in scent characteristics, even when the same parents were crossed; for example, we obtained hybrids with various proportions of citronellol, nerol and geraniol and various ratios of floral-scented and fruity-scented compounds.