By JESSICA DAMIANO, Associated Press

If I asked you to name a holiday flower, my guess is poinsettia , amaryllis or paperwhite would be the first to come to mind. But there’s another, underused seasonal plant that deserves attention.

Allow me to introduce you to cyclamen.

There are roughly two dozen species of the perennial plants, some with rounded leaves and others with heart-, kidney- or ivy-shaped foliage. Some boast white or silver marbling or speckles on their leaves.

But their flowers are the main attraction. Available in white and shades of pink, red and purple, the houseplants boast unusual, upside-down flowers with delicate, backward-curved petals –- and they bloom only in winter.

FILE – Cyclamen blossom in Freiburg, southern Germany, on Feb. 27, 2009. (AP Photo/Winfried

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