It is not true to say that all bulbs are monocarpic; neither true lilies nor amaryllids replace their bulb entirely in a single season. Neither should monocarpy be invoked when the primary axis of the plant continues as it does in Tulipa, Crocus, Colchicum, etc, etc - but not in Cardiocrinum in which it is quite accurate to use the term for the principal bulb. The term itself is dubious. What is a 'carp'? A carpel is a single female part of a flower consisting of stigma, (style) and ovary including ovules. Monocarpy suggests a solitary carpel (although this would be strictly termed monocarpellate) and can really be viewed as a nonsense term. What is meant is a single flowering event from the primary axis. As students we were taught by uber-botanist David Mabberley that the correct term is hapaxanthic, meaning once-flowering. Something drilled into one by Mabberley is not easily forgotten without a pang of guilt, but it must be said that hapaxanthic is not often used! John Grimshaw Dr John M. Grimshaw Garden Manager, Colesbourne Gardens Sycamore Cottage Colesbourne Nr Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL53 9NP Tel. 01242 870567 Mobile 07 919 840 063 Fax (Estate Office) 01242 870541 Website: http://www.colesbournegardens.org.uk/ ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim McKenney" <jimmckenney@starpower.net> To: "'Pacific Bulb Society'" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2005 4:22 AM Subject: RE: [pbs] Germination of old lily seed > Jane McGary wrote: I wrote "monocarpic bulb," meaning precisely that, > > Jane, it was very naughty of you to use the meaningless phrase 'monocarpic > bulb'. After all, in that sense, all bulbs are 'monocarpic'. > > : ) > > Jim McKenney > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php >