Last summer I received some corms of Crocus flavus from Jane McGary; the corms, with their long hard necks, looked right, and now I see some tips of bright chrome yellow poking up, too. Almost every account of the crocuses cites Crocus flavus as one of the commonest crocuses in gardens. Yet when my plants finally bloom, that will be the first time I've ever seen Crocus flavus - and that's coming from someone who has avidly collected crocuses for decades. That's not the anomaly it might seem because, contrary to widespread opinion, Crocus flavus in not a common crocus in our gardens and probably never has been in North America. The reason Crocus flavus is widely cited as common is because in the past the familiar garden cultivar 'Dutch Yellow' or 'Yellow Mammoth', which is presumably grown wherever crocuses are grown, was for long thought to be a form of Crocus flavus. 'Dutch Yellow' is now thought to be of hybrid origin, so all records of the past cultivation of Crocus flavus in a given area are now suspect. The sunny morning has turned into an overcast afternoon here, and I just came in from closing the cold frame - but not before taking another look those emerging buds of Crocus flavus, for me a life list crocus. Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, where more Lachenalia are coming into bloom inside under the plant lights. My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/