Zhang Daqian, a Chinese artist who was famous for his exquisite traditional Chinese painting skills in the 20th century, used to make a magnificent translation of a flower's scientific name into a beautiful Chinese name based on the pronunciation. The cyclamen's Chinese name is Xiankelai, which means "the guest comes from the fairyland."

The cyclamen is native to the Middle East and Southern and Central Europe. It grows from a tuber, and produces flowers in an array of colors. The petals of cyclamen flowers are quite notable, as they're bent strongly upward, making them look like butterflies or rabbit ears, hence this flower is sometimes called the "bunny-ear flower" in Chinese.

Cyclamens prefer warm temperature. If the environment is too hot or too cold, the plant will either rot or become dormant without producing a flower. It is an indoor flower that enjoys bright light and drenched soil, but allow the soil to fully dry before watering. The flower blooms from November to March. However, it could even last until May if the gardener provides excellent care.

As an indoor plant, cyclamens can not only produce colorful and vivid flowers, but also absorb sulfur dioxide to make the air cleaner. Therefore, it is a good choice for people working at home during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Read more from the series:

Season of flower

(Cover image via VCG)

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