Nikko wrote: “6) Re Jim McKenny’s official version of the nerine story: I’m not a fully paid up subscriber to the Guernsey shipwreck-…” Nikko, thanks for those comments on the story of the introduction of Nerine sarniensis. This topic came up in January 2008, and at that time an article by Graham Duncan which cast doubt on the “official” version was mentioned. However, Duncan’s article does not provide the basis for these doubts. I responded at that time asking if anyone knew the basis for those doubts. It took two and a half years to get an answer! If you or anyone else would like to see that exchange from 2008, Google this: +[pbs] [Nerine McKenney shipwreck] site:///lists.ibiblio.org I mention there that the earliest accounts of the story that I am aware of were published in the late seventeenth century, decades after the time of the purported shipwreck, but still within the life span of persons who might have witnessed the events or heard them as first hand accounts. It seems to me that there is this to be said in favor of the traditional version of the story: Nerine sarniensis was long thought to be of Japanese origin. If Lambert had acquired his plants through legitimate sources, isn’t it likely that they would have been known from the beginning to have been brought from the Cape and not from Japan? Whatever the actual facts are, yours is certainly the more interesting story! Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871º North, 77.09829º West, USDA zone 7 My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/ Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/