Thank you Alberto, Ken, John and everyone else who has responded. I am cross posting this reply to Paul Chapman on Alpine-L to the PBS list. Sorry for any duplication. The opinion is solidly that it is Habranthus tubispathus. How the confusion occurred is a mystery. (See below--Paul's message is at the bottom.) Ernie O'Byrne Northwest Garden Nursery 86813 Central Road Eugene OR 97402-9284 USA Phone: 541 935-3915 FAX: 541 935-0863 -----Original Message----- From: Ernie O'Byrne [mailto:nargsbs@efn.org] Sent: Friday, September 27, 2002 2:24 PM To: Alpine-L, the Electronic Rock Garden Society; postings copyright by authors. Subject: RE: [AlpenPix] Unknown bulb Well, personally, I believe that ignorance is not such a bad thing. It, at least, in contrast to stupidity, can be corrected! I had another private e-mail that gave the same ID, Habranthus tubispathus. I don't know how the confusion occurred and I have no idea where the Habranthus might have come from. I certainly don't remember either growing any from seed, or ordering any. I guess that the S. African bulb that I had so lovingly tended in its pot for 3 years and planted out in the trough (where the tag was) decided it didn't like life here after all, but to have something totally unknown come up in the same spot is a real mystery. Has the Habranthus perhaps naturalized in parts of South Africa? Ernie O'Byrne Northwest Garden Nursery 86813 Central Road Eugene OR 97402-9284 USA Phone: 541 935-3915 FAX: 541 935-0863 Eugene, Oregon is USDA Zone 8a on the map, but we can only grow Zone 7 plants reliably. Member of NARGS, SRGC, RHS, American Primula Society, Meconopsis Group, Alpine-L, Arisaema-L, Hellebore Group -----Original Message----- From: Alpine-L, the Electronic Rock Garden Society; postings copyright by authors. [mailto:ALPINE-L@NIC.SURFNET.NL]On Behalf Of Dr Paul Chapman Sent: Friday, September 27, 2002 7:55 PM To: ALPINE-L@NIC.SURFNET.NL Subject: Re: [AlpenPix] Unknown bulb Ernie, I would not dream of calling you ignorant, but I believe your unknown bulb: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AlpenPix/… is a member of the Amaryllidaceae, and not actually a native of South Africa at all. I believe you have a form of the very variable Habranthus tubispathus which, when my edition of Rix and Phillips was published in 1981, was known as Habranthus andersonii, and appeared on page 175. It may be another species of Habranthus, but I think H. tubispathus is most likely. The most easily observed difference between Iridaceae and Amaryllidaceae is that Amaryllidaceae have 6 stamens (shown clearly in your open flower picture), whereas Iridaceae have only 3. Hope this is some help. Paul Dr Paul Chapman, Wallington, Surrey, England. South London commuter belt suburbia - zone 9a, where we have had hardly any rain for the last 4 weeks.