>I took time to read it this morning and it is wonderful information >clearly written and precise.Bravo and merci ! Dear Mark and all, The Maas's have been working on this for a while. They have published smaller articles in various Floras, but this is years of work compiled very neatly. As a semi-student of the Family/genus I see a few gaps or topics they just did not mention. The most recent other monograph by N. Tanaka (2001) came up with 19 species. Disregarding the taxonomic conclusions, the biological discussions are very worth while. And if you are really interested in the cultivars and their origins, you should read the 7 articles by I. Mukherjee &T. Khoshoo "Genetic Evolutionary Studies in Cultivated Cannas". They are scattered around in various journals, and not referenced in Maas' paper. This is a fascinating genus that well deserves this new paper. Best Jim W. -- Dr. James W. Waddick 8871 NW Brostrom Rd. Kansas City Missouri 64152-2711 USA Ph. 816-746-1949 Zone 5 Record low -23F Summer 100F +