Lee Poulsen asked of Tulipa praecox "Does anyone know any more about this species? " Lee, it's a happy conicidence that you raised the question of Tulipa praecox again. We've discussed this on this list before, and in fact I then asked the very same question you just did: have any efforts been made to raise garden worthy hybrids from it. I bought a slide scanner the other day and I'm going through forty years of slides and deciding which to scan immediately before I attack the pile systematically. The first slide I scanned was one of several I have of Iris susiana. You can see it here: http://mcwort.blogspot.com/2012/03/… After reading your post I scanned a slide of Tulipa praecox. It's not the best image, but it does show the salient features of that plant. You can see it here: http://mcwort.blogspot.com/2012/03/… Chris spoke to our local rock garden group a few years ago. He showed a slide of his Tulipa praecox and it seemed to differ in some ways from the plant I grew. The older books describe Tulipa praecox as a triploid clone; it therefore shouldn't vary too much if at all. Perhaps other similar forms have arisen independently. Tulipa praecox has a big bulb, much like one from a hybrid garden tulip, and it is said to be stoloniferous. Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.021954º North, 77.052102º West, USDA zone 7 My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ <http://www.jimmckenney.com/> BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/ Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org /<http://www.pvcnargs.org/> Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/ <http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/>