Arnold wrote, >In Brian Mathew's Crocus he describes Crocus thomasii as follows: > >"Flowers autumnal, fragrant 1-2(-3), pale to deep lilac, generally not >strongly veined darker but sometimes veined or stained towards the base >of the segments with violet; throat pale yellow, pubescent. Prophyll >present. Bract and bracteole very unequal, white, membranous with long >tapered tips. Perianth tube 3-6(-8) cm long: segments 2-4.5 cm long, >0.7-1.5 cm wide, elliptical, obovate or oblanceolate, acute or obtuse. > >Filaments 5-8 mm long, usually pale yellow, glabrous or finely pubescent >at the base: anthers 9-13 mm long, yellow. Style divided at a variable >point, usually ranging from just below or level with the base of the >anthers to about a quarter of the way up the anthers, into 3 bright red >branches, each 0.7-2 cm long, half or less than half the length of the >perianth segments, expanded gradually to the apex." > >Maybe Jane can discuss the source of her bulbs. The source of my bulbs (obtained as bulbs, not seed, in the early 1990s) was Potterton and Martin, a well-known UK bulb merchant. They are very well regarded but not infallible. I'll examine the plants in extreme detail next fall when they flower if someone is questioning the identification; I have assumed they were correct based on general appearance, time of flowering, and characteristics of the corm. I didn't get a look at the photo that is causing the questions. However, you can see from the description Arnold has quoted that the superficial appearance of the flower is variable, as is the case in many Crocus species. Jane McGary