Arnold wrote, >Some additional views of colchicum. With speciosum added. Note the ants >all over the speciosum. Bowles refers to "myrmecochory" a mechanism of >seed dispersal by ants. Perhaps they also pollinate the speciosum by >climbing all over the fertile parts. I haven't noticed any ants on my colchicums here, but they are buzzing with honeybees, which are still plentiful here despite the terrible mite plague. Ant dispersal is important for many geophytes, and ants love bulb frames (I get stung horribly when turning out the dry pots, but perhaps it's good for arthritis, as bee stings are said to be?), so it's not unusual to find cyclamens, Gymnospermium, and other plants whose seeds are attractive to ants coming up in the plunge medium I also put a lot of Colchicum photos on the wiki recently, so when you look at Arnold's you can also look at them. I don't know how to make the links in an e-mail so have not announced them. There is also a new photo of Sternbergia greuterana. Regarding Jamie's question about Dipcadi serotinum, it is a very small flower (you can't see the scale in the photo that was posted) that appears at odd times in summer. I have several that bloom a month or more apart. The colors are all very "subtle," to put it kindly -- dull green and peach-tan. The seed is very easy to collect and set in abundance, so you can usually find it in thelarger seed exchanges, such as NARGS and AGS. The plant is said to be rather tender, but I have some in a frame that is hardly protected at all, and they are doing well. Jane McGary Northwestern Oregon