Hi, Jane I am awaiting the first colchicum blooms of the season; I can see the pale tips peeking out of the ground. This got me thinking about a remark you made quite a while ago, quoted below. You said a monograph on colchicums exists but has been delayed by lack of funding. Do you have any more information on this? I am wondering if anything can be done in regards to the funding problem, such as publishing via print on demand. Has the author considered submitting the manuscript to Timber Press? I am giving a presentation on colchicums to the Adirondack Chapter (really Finger Lakes, based in Ithaca, NY) of the North American Rock Garden Society and I would like to informed on the status of the monograph in case the question comes up. Shoot, I would like to own the monograph! At any rate, I'd appreciate any information you could share. Kathy Purdy On Tue, Jan 29, 2013 at 1:33 PM, Jane McGary <janemcgary@earthlink.net>wrote: > Gastil's photos include one of the corms, which clearly shows that > her crocuses are C. minimus, because the parallel fibers are obvious. > The very similar C. corsicus has reticulate tunic fibers. > > The photographed flowers are typical of the commercially propagated > variety of C. minimus, which is more strongly marked on the outer > (reverse) than some wild forms. It also has larger flowers and wider > tepals than some I have grown from wild-collected seed or seed from such > stock. > > Mathew writes that the two species, which both grow on Corsica, > apparently do not hybridize. > > Gastil also asked about "a good book or website for Mediterranean > geophyte identification." I don't think there is a single publication > or website for all of the Mediterranean, or for all genera. For > Crocus I am still relying on Mathew 1982 with some photocopies of > later-described taxa laid in, but I have heard that a revision of > that book may appear within the near future. The AGS plans to publish > a well-illustrated field guide to geophytes of the eastern > Mediterranean (essentially the Middle East and Cyprus) by Oron Peri, > and there are several useful books for Turkey and for Greece, and a > grand volume on Crete. North Africa seems to be sadly neglected. For > Spain one usually turns to works on specific genera, such as John > Blanchard's on Narcissus, or works of Aaron Davis and John Grimshaw > on Galanthus. My own greatest interest is Fritillaria, for which a > monograph has not yet appeared, leaving me very frustrated every > spring as I try to verify my plants in flower. *There exists a > monograph on COlchicum, but its publication has, I believe, been > delayed by lack of funding.* > > Jane McGary > Portland, Oregon, USA > > > > > > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >Text inserted by Panda GP 2011: > > > > This message has NOT been classified as spam. If it is unsolicited > > mail (spam), click on the following link to reclassify it: > > http://localhost/Panda/… > :\Documents%20and%20Settings\Main\Local%20Settings\Application%20Data\Panda%20Security\Panda%20Global%20Protection%202011\AntiSpam > > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ > -- Kathy Purdy Cold Climate Gardening: providing the information you need to succeed in USDA Hardiness Zones 4 and colder. http://www.coldclimategardening.com/ Blogging Art and Practice: YourBlogHelper.com