A number of points to reply to Jim McKenney's response. 1) Jim does not see the similarity between normal C. byzantinum (the ancient clone, certainly not a species) and C. 'Innocence' - I do, and indeed the images on the wiki page show, to my mind, their extremely close similarities. Indeed, one flower of 'Innocence' actually shows a streak of pink that strongly suggests to me that it is some sort of chimaeral sport from byzantinum. I've grown C. byzantinum for nearly 30 years, and known 'Innocence' for 25+, and all my observations suggest their close relationship. 2) The 'other byzantinum' Jim describes, with longer but narrower segments, is also commonly grown here, without a satisfactory name, though it is sometimes erroneously labelled C. laetum. I see that the RHS Plant Finder refers "C. laetum misapplied" to C. parnassicum but on what grounds I don't know. It is an excellent free-flowering plant, which I've also grown for 30 years - came as a novelty bulb to flower dry on the windowsill. 3) The relationship between C. byzantinum with C. cilicicum is curious: they do seem to be connected, but it would be interesting to see what DNA analysis of the two taxa revealed. It has to be said that Colchicum nomenclature and its relationship to the actual entities is a nightmare, and the presence of ancient sterile plants masquerading as species doesn't help. John Grimshaw Dr. John M. Grimshaw Sycamore Cottage Colesbourne Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL53 9NP Tel. 01242 870567