My mother and I are just back from the Aug. 10 meeting of the Pacific Bulb Society in Portland, Oregon. Frank Callahan gave a wonderful slide presentation on Calochortus, featuring dozens of spp.: panoramas of them in their habitats and sumptuous closeups of their distinguishing traits. We drove eight hours each way to hear that talk and found it entirely worth our while. I'm not sure how many attended. Perhaps a dozen? Several people prominent in the world of west-coast bulbs had said they'd be there, but weren't. Cathy Craig, known to you all, came up from California -- it was great to meet her, so full of energy. Hi, Cathy! Jay Lunn, known to me as a Penstemaniac, turned out to be a bulb loony as well. Hello, Jay! Those of you who didn't make it, missed a lot. Frank's long chapter on Calochortus in Bulbs of North America is very useful, but his talk in Portland persuaded me that it would be botanically enlightening, not to mention dazzling, to see all the Calochortus species compared in greater depth, side by side, in closeup and microscopically. Preferably in a book, though a CD or a website would also work. The photographs Frank uses, some by him but most by John Erwin, are outstanding. John was also at the Portland meeting and showed us a binder of images shot through an electron microscope that truly make a bulb lover's heart go pit-a-pat. But there was also a bulb exchange. Loren Russell showed slides of some bulbs he encountered in Europe, among them the delectable Pancratium illyricum, and no sooner was the projector turned off than I saw a small bag with his scribble on it -- Pancratium illyricum! A single bulb, raised from seed, looking lonely, so of course I offered to give it a good home. Jane McGary, who organized this meeting, showed slides of those bulb frames she so often mentions in emails to this and other plant groups. Yes, they are vast; yes, they are tidy; and yes, they are brimming. Jane also contributed beyond generously to the bulb exchange. Among many other treasures from her that fell into my clutches were Triteleia dudleyi, a yellow, alpine brodiaea; and Fritillaria liliacea, rare but from cultivated seed. Another treasure I picked up, at the urging of Jane and Loren, was Ranunculus calandrinioides. I had never seen it -- my ignorance is vast -- but when I looked it up on the net last night, I was thrilled. Wow! I'm not sure who the donor was; perhaps Ernie O'Byrne, who could not be present but sent some contributions? Whoever brought it: thank you, thank you! Paige Woodward paige@hillkeep.ca On top of Chilliwack Mountain in southwestern British Columbia, Canada Wet Zone 6 Latitude - Longitude : 49° 09' 00" N - 122° 01' 00" W http://www.hillkeep.ca/