Roger Whitlock asked: " Jim McKenney also mentioned tulips as foodstuffs, but this surprised me. The only mentions I've seen to eating tulip bulbs refer to the Dutch famine during WWII under the Nazi occupation. Do you have a reference to historical eating of tulip bulbs, Jim?" I'm sorry, Roger, I can't cite a reference off the top of my head. I'm pretty sure I've seen speculation about this in accounts of the distribution of, for instance, Tulipa sylvestris in England (where this sometimes so-called "English tulip" is very doubtfully native). As time allows, I'll check some references here; if I find anything, I'll let you know. Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, where there was frozen water on the crocus this morning. My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/ Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/