Dear Anita and all, Another interesting topic. I agree with Tony that it is fairly easy to guess parentage of hybrids if you are familiar with parentage. Most first gen hybrids seem to be intermediate. L. squamigera sure looks like a 1st gen combo of sprengeri x longituba, but , based on karyotype, this might be a tricky cross only occurring rarely. L. squamigera is generally believed to be a natural stable hybrid, but has been recorded from a few location in E. China centering around Zheijiang Province. It has long been in cultivation in China and brought to Japan centuries ago. Owing to its beauty, vigor and ease of multiplication it has spread far and wide. As a sterile plant it is essentially a clone. You just don't see anything intermediate between squamigera and anything. It is a hybridizing dead end. L. chinensis and L. longituba have nearly identical karyotypes and as you might expect there are numerous hybrid intermediates as 1st gen seedlings are fertile and easily back cross to either parent. You can readily ID plants that show a lot of one or the other with a mix of characters in delightful ways. These are hyridizers' dreams with many possibilities. Japan has fewer native species, but most of these have nearly identical karyotypes. The Japanese have developed a series of hybrids mostly between L. sanguinea and the introduced L.sprengeri. These are available from Dutch bulb dealers (in association with Japanese suppliers?) under a variety of fanciful names. China with more species and more karyotypical variation has produced an array of natural stable hybrid species such as x haywardii, X houdyshelii and others. There are a couple of Chinese species which are little grown, but of suspect and probably hybrid origin such as L. caldwelli, L. straminea and possibly L. incarnata. With a pretty good color palette, size and form , the genus has a lot of potential for lovely garden plants. With a little attention to plant details, it is fairly easy to guess relationships. Reality takes longer. 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 +