Dear All; The bulbs of the genus Ungernia seem to be unique among bulbs and I am asking for any info on similar structures. Many bulbs in the Amaryllidaceae and other families have a basal plate that connects all the scales, stems and other structure. As the bulb ages this basal plate is replaced. In Ungernia, this old basal plate is apparently retained from year to year so that eventually these old basal plates 'pile up' to form a sub-bulb rootstock. In a 'Plant Life' article (1970 p 178) there is a picture of this sub-bulb rootstock branched with two bulbs attached. On the following page of this same article, the author suggests this rootstock can get to be a half meter (19 inches) long! I have attached a picture to the wiki* of three small bulbs of Ungernia (possibly U. oligostroma**) showing three small bulbs each with their odd sub-bulb rootstock. I find this very peculiar and wonder if any other bulb does anything like this? I am not even sure to call it a sub-bulb rootstock or what; any suggestions? Any ideas and anyone seen anything similar? Happy Holidays to all Jim W. ps I'll summarize some new Ungernia info soon, too. * http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/… Thanks Mary Sue ** U. oligostroma has the smallest bulbs in the genus. These are about 2 cm across and the largest is 13 cm long. The largest bulbs are found in U. trisphera: up to 12 cm (nearly 5 inches) in diameter! Most species have bulbs in the 5-7 cm diameter (2-3 inch) range of size. -- Dr. James W. Waddick 8871 NW Brostrom Rd. Kansas City Missouri 64152-2711 USA Ph. 816-746-1949 E-fax 419-781-8594 Zone 5 Record low -23F Summer 100F +