Thanks to this lively thread on aquatic crinums, I stopped in to the local aquarium shop today to see what might be available locally. My query about Crinum thaianum elicited some doubts, but the sales guy did recognize the name crinum and said that he thought they had C. calamistratum. When I offered the name "on\ion plants", he brightened up and took me over to see them. They were being sold as "octopus plants" - Alani's description of the 12 foot leaves immediately came to mind. Whatever they are, they were being sold for about $2.50 each. The bulbs reminded me of those of Acis autumnalis - maybe a bit bigger - and so did the chive-like foliage (it was proportionally coarser than that of the Acis and not flat). Maybe they are onion plants after all! Before asking for help I had wandered through the store to see if I could find the plants on my own. In one tank I did see something labeled Crinum calamistratum. What I saw was at first glance a dead ringer for the fern known as Athyrium filix-femina 'Frizelliae'. - Dave's description of it as highly crenulated was spot-on. I was greatly tempted by this one, but the $25 price tag was more than wanted to spend. The store also sells herps, and I overheard one snake collector solemnly telling a group of others that "it's easy to find someone dumb enough to buy a 19 foot reticulated python." I've always thought that a good garden should have some snakes, but a 19 foot python is overdoing it a bit. Jim McKenney Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7