To David Fenwick, and PBS members, I was too brief in mentioning Codonopsis and Tulbaghia in passing, alluding to their skunk-like scent. The genus Codonopsis, with about 30+ species in central and east Asia, is a member of the Campanulaceae. In Hortus, it is said about the foliage: "herbage often strong-smelling when crushed". What isn't said, is that foliage is strong-smelling of skunk or distastefully foetid. Yet, its a beautiful genus that's worth growing. Back to being on-topic, David Fenwick knows that I am an admirer of Tulbaghia. Here's a fascinating genus just full of scent. I should clarify, that it's the roots, stems and leaves of some species of Tulbaghia that exude a skunk-like smell when bruised, quite strong in some cases. I have a half dozen Tulbaghias growing in my windowsill at my office, and frequently must aim a fan on them to circulate the air and dispel the low-level skunky aroma, lest people think it is me who is the source of the smell. I notice that the skunky smell is more pronounced right after watering them. But for floral scent, Tulbaghias offer up a rich assortment of intriguing and intense scents. David's enumeration of species and their associated whimsical scents is just the thing I'm talking about. He said of T. leucantha that it smells like "an old 60s brand of washing powder". I don't think I've ever had the true species, but I did grow an odd red-brown flowered Tulbaghia species from Jerry Flintoff, I think labeled T. capensis, although not matching the photos of the species on David's web pages. The flowers had that same sweet baby powder scent found in the flowers of our Sourwood tree; Oxydendron arboreum, and I suppose, similar to the flowery scented washing powder David mentions. It flowered for it's last time this summer, unfortunately rotting out after a hot tropical summer with absurd amounts of rainfall. It was one of my favorites. Earlier this year I posted several pictures on the wiki of some hybrid Tulbaghia (hybrids; usually the case when growing Tulbaghia "species" from seed). David helped to supply the probable parentage. One is perhaps a hybrid of T. rhodesica. The flowers are charming but have a repulsive foetid stink when sniffed at close hand. The other is most likely a cominsii x violacea cross, with delightful pale pink flowers, deeper pink throats, and an alluringly sweet scent. Both are found on the PBS wiki at: http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/… Only those two hybrids are posted on the PBS wiki so far, plus a link to David Fenwick's Tulbaghia pages, as the keeper of The NCCPG National Plant Collection® of Tulbaghia. David; any images you'd like to share with the group? Feel free to contact me if you need help uploading and creating the links on the Tulbaghia page. I'd love to see images for the 6 Tulbaghias you mention. Sorry to inadvertantly malign the genus Tulbaghia in passing, without mentioning the other attributes of this fascinating little genus. It is also hoped that David's many new hybrids will become available one day, as they're sure to become popular plants. At the very least, take a winter tour through the Tulbaghia pages at: http://theafricangarden.netfirms.com/page13.html Mark McDonough Pepperell, Massachusetts, United States antennaria@aol.com "New England" USDA Zone 5 ============================================== >> web site under construction - http://www.plantbuzz.com/ << alliums, bulbs, penstemons, hardy hibiscus, western american alpines, iris, plants of all types!