I have some wonderful illustations of reddish muscari and other improbables.Why should we doubt that they existed.I have just been told of a true double leucojum in the Allen herbarium.Apparently all modern forms are as yet semi-doubles.This specimen definately had petaloid stamens and not just extra segments,delightful and different these new plants are nonetheless they can't truely be called doubles.And as for dark pink convallaria why not too?As I have said there are yellow-tipped forms still around just.Or were until a few years ago. Does anyone grow the yellow berried Ruscus aculeatus?This is a fabled plant in Europe but is said to be grown in The States.I have collected seed of various forms in Turkey,usually with the narrow leaves.I grow several forms:///the/ hermaphrodite form and two narrow leaved forms ,one is very narrow and fine.I forget their names sorry.I also grow after much searching and now well established,the white fruited form of Iris foetidissima.I think it is a great treasure.It seeds true if anyone wants some seed ,I may have some still hanging on. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jane McGary" <janemcgary@earthlink.net> To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 5:48 PM Subject: Re: [pbs] Convallaria > Mark wrote: >>I know and grow the rather disappointing Convallaria majalis 'Rosea',I >>have seen it looking better in some gardens but is not a first class >>plant.I was refering to the illustrations in the various hortus and >>herbals of byegone times when speaking of really pink forms.Some were >>called red! > > > We need to take old color descriptions with caution. Translating color > terms is difficult, and it's even harder to know just what, say, a German > herbalist writing in the regional Latin of the 18th century meant by > "rubra." > > For that matter, there is a whole range of languages that make no > distinction between what we English speakers call "blue" and "green," and > the red-to-yellow color range is also problematic cross-linguistically. > This subject forms a small but entertaining side area in semantics. > > Jane McGary > Northwestern Oregon, USA > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ > >