Mary Sue, thank you for mentioning Veratrum, and Jane, thank you for adding to the subject. I've never grown them, though have often thought they would be attractive architectural plants, if only the leaves were not so consistently shredded. >However, few serious gardeners fail to be >attracted to the foliage of veratrums, especially if it is not damaged by >slugs and snails. >The leaves are beautiful in spring, and they seem to develop a >resistance to slug predation over the years, so even without bait they >eventually look good. >They are quite poisonous. My question is, is this slug/snail damage? The early season leaves I've seen are usually not damaged, and the damage pattern is more consistant with caterpillers than slugs--ie, the leafblades are eaten between the ribs of the leaves, not from the outside in as in the usual pattern of slugs. It is always interesting that some creatures seem able to eat plants which are poisonous to most others. I've long thought I'd like to grow one or more Veratrums somewhere in the garden, but have never been in the right place at the right time to harvest seeds. Ken, western Oregon