Dirk wrote, referring to "The Gardener's Guide to Growing Fritillarias" by Kevin Pratt, >Would the same be said about their making F. roderickii a synonym of F. >biflora var. grayana? They also state that this species is a naturally >occurring hybrid between F. biflora and F. purdyi. Is this right? Another error. As I understand it, F. "roderickii" is not identical with F. "grayana" -- the former is smaller and less robust in growth than the latter, which I (and some others) find to be the easiest form of F. biflora to grow. David King's account in "Bulbs of North America" says F. "roderickii" does not exceed 15 cm (6 inches) and has flowers of "a unique brown color with pale cream tepal tips." The clone 'Martha Roderick' is a selection of "roderickii" made in England. The name "F. roderickii," though not accepted in the "Jepson Manual" (the authoritative California flora), is still in use largely for political reasons, since its restricted population is on the state endangered species list and thus provides leverage for preservation of its habitat. (This is a useful conservation strategy in the USA.) F. purdyi's flowers look a lot like those of F. biflora and, at least here, they flower about the same time (late in the frit season), but I don't know what the possibility of their hybridizing is (i.e., I don't know their chromosome counts). Jane McGary Northwestern Oregon