Primroses bloomed at Rosa Khutor

While snow is lying on the upper elevations of the mountains and the skiing season continues, bright pink flowers have already decorated the forest glades at the lower elevation of Rosa Khutor - 540 meters above sea level. Cyclamen are very ancient plants, they were known even in Ancient Hellas, from where their scientific name came from: in Greek, "cyclus" means "circle", this is the shape of primrose tubers. The buds are turned in a bizarre way, and the petals are directed towards the sky, resembling butterflies. In total, there are more than 50 species of cyclamen in the world, but only one grows on the territory of Sochi.

- A rare flower is under state protection, it is listed in the Red Book of Russia. Tearing cyclamen is strictly prohibited, violators face punishment in the form of a fine. Unlike daffodils and tulips, this plant does not reproduce by bulbs, but only by tiny black seeds. Every flower that is plucked is thousands of new ones that will not appear in the future. In order for rare plants to remain safe, special full houses have been installed at the resort, which urge not to touch or trample them, - said Denis Ryltsev, head of the Rosa Khutor environmental service.

The end of February is the traditional time for the cyclamen to bloom in the Sochi mountains. Such primroses are not afraid of frosts. They will delight with bright colors until the middle of March. As soon as the snow melts in the mountains, you can see another red book primrose on Rosa Khutor – Voronov's snowdrop. Peonies will bloom in April, and orchids will bloom in May. In total, over 1,650 species of native plants are found in the rich flora and fauna of the Caucasian Black Sea region. Every fifth species is endemic, it is not found anywhere else in the world.