Thank you, Nathan Lange, well spoken. I did not consider the longevity of Erythronium lifetimes. Anyone know how long an individual bulb can live? Longer than me, I'm sure. I posed the same question to the Native Plant Society of Oregon (NPSO, nice folks by the way) and received a similar answer. One response was that before the spread of invasive humans (like me) fire was common here. When a fire came through, removed brush and let light in, all the non-flowering individuals currently in deep shade would bloom. I did consider rodents as seed dispersal vectors, but birds seem more likely. An interesting study would test the ability of Western NA Erythronium seed to survive the digestive tract of a bird (a quick ride, I think). Anyone have any extra bird bile? -Travis Owen Rogue River, OR http://amateuranthecologist.blogspot.com/