I also suspect that somatic mutations have crept into the clone(s) of squamigera over the years. The more prolifically a clone propagates, the more likely somatic changes are to occur. Jim Shields At 12:56 PM 7/27/2010 -0500, Adam wrote: >Re Lycoris squamigera and its sterile triploid status. Mutations could >have crept in over the years so that the sterility is not as complete as >it was originally, and not due merely to the diploid/triploid >mismatch,. In diploid irises, occasionally a pollen grain or ovum will >be tetraploid owing to a failure or lapse at meiosis, yielding an >incomplete meiosis, with subsequent readiness for fertility It could >happen with Lycoris, no? ************************************************* Jim Shields USDA Zone 5 Shields Gardens, Ltd. P.O. Box 92 WWW: http://www.shieldsgardens.com/ Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA Tel. ++1-317-867-3344 or toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA