>Lycoris folks: > >Has anyone else noticed that there seems to be virtually no difference >between L. straminea, L. x houdyshellii, and L. elsiae. Dear Tony and all, Well honestly , no. But I have limited success with 2 of these 3(4?). These 4 species are all very close in the Kurita et al key : L. albiflora, x. houdyshelii, x straminea and x. elisae. As I understand it......... A. L. straminea flowers open straw tan. Maybe a dirty yellow. The tepals each have a thin pink mid-line and distinct small pink flecks. It gets about a foot high in bloom. It does not bloom here reliably Native to E. China 2N = 19 It seems very distinct to me. B. L. xhoudyshellii has white flowers. I'd call it creamy to clear white. Although the foliage appears here regularly, flowers are scarce. It blooms later than straminea and closer to radiata bloom season. Native to E. China 2N = 30 It seems close to x albiflora to me at least according to the lit. Albiflora is native to Japan and both seem easily confused as a so-called L. radiata 'alba'. C. L. elisae . I have never grown this species (maybe), but it is the only species with salmon flowers. It is native to Japan. 2N = 17. This may be the species illustrated on the wiki as "A tangerine colored hybrid, possibly involving L. sanguinea" see: http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/… in which case I do grow it. But at least these four do share a number of characters: Autumn foliage, exserted stamens, relative small stature. All of these are in the subgenus Lycoris and most are difficult for my climate except for the few with spring foliage that are in cultivation. L. shaanxiensis has been mentioned. As I understand this species, it is the northern most species (hardiest?), flowers are white. Spring foliage. Shaanxi Province, China. 2N= ? Although I have received a number of bulbs with this name, they have proved to be mis-identified and or not hardy. It should be comparable to L. caldwellii , its potentially closest relative , which is very hardy and reliable here in Kansas City. I have tried to get bulbs direct from Shaanxi Province without success. I suspect it is not in cultivation. Roh et al" Identification and Classification of the Genus Lycoris Using Molecular Markers" from 2002 is superseded in part by Shi et al "Phylogenetic relationships and possible Hybrid Origin of Lycoris Species (Amaryllidaceae) Revealed by ITS Sequences" (2006). A major problem with both is the lack of clear differentiation of the species to begin with and verification of species identities. Lycoris are especially difficult to work with because floral characteristics may seem quite similar, but vegetative characters can be quite different, but separated by a few to 6 months in time. Few people take all characters into account. I still weigh heavily to Kurita et al "Synopsis of the Genus Lycoris (Amaryllidaceae) 1994 even with major gaps. You have a distinctly rich potential for sorting these out by comparing the many plants in these plots carefully. The fact that these three seemingly different species all look the same suggest to me that 2 are possibly misidentified, even from multiple, 'reliable' sources. I do not consider myself reliable on any of these particular species. That also means that all of the above must be taken with ample qualifications, hedging and serious doubts. Very frustrating. So waddaya think? Best Jim -- 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 +