Mary Sue wrote, >I have also seen it called Dichelostemma volubile. I >think that is the preferred name. I've read that even if the stem breaks >off from the corm it will continue to twine and bloom. Has anyone ever >tried that? I've seen it happen. The stem routinely withers at the base and separates from the bulb before the seed ripens, too, and seems to contain enough moisture to support the developing seeds. There is a Dutch cultivar known as Dichelostemma 'Pink Diamond' that I've seen identified as a color form of D. ida-maia and, alternatively, a hybrid of it. I wonder if it's a hybrid of ida-maia and volubile, since it has a distinctly twining growth habit, though it doesn't require support as much as D. volubile does (I put thin bamboo stakes by it to keep it from strangling its Calochortus neighbors). It is like ida-maia in form but rose-pink, a clearer color than volubile. Some who notice such things may be confused by the various endings on the species epithets for Dichelostemma. The genus name has the Greek root stemma 'wreath', which is neuter like Latin volubile, capitatum, and congestum, but ida-maia is a noun, not an adjective, so it stays in the feminine. Another interesting thing about D. volubile is that it often occurs in moister areas than other members of the Brodiaea alliance, such as seeps on shady hillsides--often in company with Calochortus albus, by the way. This suggests that it may be adaptable to areas with summer rainfall. Jane McGary Northwestern Oregon, USA