I think Peter is making a distinction with little difference here: in both bulbs and corms the flower buds develop on a growth shoot, but in a corm the growth bud develops superficially on the swollen stem that forms the storage body, whereas in a bulb it grows from the compressed stem found within the whorls of swollen leaf bases/modified leaves that form the bulb. In consequence, the development of flower buds in a cormous plant occurs as the shoot expands 'once growth resumes', and is thus more visible. Dormancy is a difficult word - it is a mistake to think that nothing is happening in the depths of a bulb in summer, just because nothing can be seen, whereas in fact the shoot is organising itself to greater or lesser extent. John Grimshaw -----Original Message----- From: pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Peter Taggart Sent: 02 March 2014 18:59 To: Pacific Bulb Society Subject: Re: [pbs] Crocus sativus blooming? This is because the plant is a corm and not a bulb! Unlike true bulbs, corms do not form the flowers within the corm during dormancy- the flower buds develop on the growth shoots. Peter (UK) On 20 February 2014 00:23, Gastil Gastil-Buhl <gastil.buhl@gmail.com> wrote: > The abstract says more cold is required to initiate bloom than to form > the blooms in the corms. > >