Nathan asked >Hi Jane, > >This is very interesting. What other hybrid California frits do you grow? In addition to the two mentioned, I have apparent hybrids between F. liliacea (seed parent) and F. agrestis, and a hybrid of unspecified parentage sent me awhile back by Ed Rustvold from the Bay Area, which has buds this year. I think I also have F. gentneri, a variable natural hybrid between F. affinis and F. recurva, from seed of a natural population on private land, but the plants aren't big enough to flower quite yet. The American Fritillaria species fall into fairly obvious related groups with similar bulbs and foliage, though within a group the flowers may be rather different. The main ones are those typified by F. affinis and by F. biflora. The striata-pluriflora pair seems to be an outlier to these. F. glauca also seems outside these groups but perhaps it is close to F. falcata. Of course, I don't have a DNA lab so this is merely superficial observation. I looked something up in the Jepson Manual today and noticed that all the Fritillaria species for which an evaluation of cultivation is given are listed as "difficult." This is not quite true, especially if you live in California! Jane McGary Portland, Oregon, USA