That is useful and I endorse your call for more study in the wild. The "bumps" on the stem *are* a tenuous character but botanists seem reluctant to take flowering time as a characteristic. However, in this case I do feel a pattern of ssp. pulchellum flowering earlier than ssp. aestivum is emerging - this all started with me because I realized ssp. pulchellum less than 100 yd from my ssp. aestivum flower three months (!) earlier here in Somerset, UK. I have just returned from the River Lodden (near Reading, Berks UK) and can confirm that the variation in the wild of subsp. aestivum is indeed great - I will be publishing my pictures on my website today. Some plants had flowers with tepals up to 30 mm long. Also greater variation in the form of the flowers. (All those I inspected had the stem bumps.) Someone needs to get a grant to travel Europe next spring ! Reply / forward from John Crellin I was intrigued by John Crellin's question about Leucojum aestivum and the differences between ssp. aestivum and ssp. pulchellum, so spent a few minutes yesterday scrutinising various stocks in my parents' garden.