All ~ I, too, have my first colchicum of the season, a hybrid named 'Beaconsfield,' bought from Janis Ruksans last year. One day the patch was bare and the next -- there were these precocious flowers! Who knows if this is as purported to be or something else. I think confusion reigns supreme with these things, but most of them are most attractive as summer changes into the first days of autumn. Am really awaiting speciosum album as this was the spectacular highlight of last season! Dave Karnstedt Silverton, Oregon