John and others: While I was in Taiwan, I replied about the Lilium formosanum that I had seen, all of which had the purple flower backs and were about 3-4' tall. On our final day in the field, coming down from Ali Shan in the Central Mountains, when we dropped below 5,000' elevation, all of a sudden the Lilium formosanum below that elevation were all 6' tall and had no purple staining to the back of the petals. These plants are identical to the plant that we and others sell in the US as L. formosanum. It appears that the variation is simply one of ecotypes unless someone goes and names the non-purple back form as a subspecies. I hope this sheds more light on the subject. Tony Avent Plant Delights Nursery @ Juniper Level Botanic Garden 9241 Sauls Road Raleigh, North Carolina 27603 USA Minimum Winter Temps 0-5 F Maximum Summer Temps 95-105F USDA Hardiness Zone 7b email tony@plantdelights.com website http://www.plantdelights.com/ phone 919 772-4794 fax 919 772-4752 "I consider every plant hardy until I have killed it myself...at least three times" - Avent >