Dear Jane, You wrote "I've just returned from a trip to Chile's northern, mostly coastal area, where along with PBS members Gene Zielinski and Diane Whitehead, and Diane's partner Don, I enjoyed the full spate of the Desierto Florido, the legendary flowering that occurs after the rare years of good precipitation in the Atacama region." This is very interesting stuff. As the one who pointed out here the early high rainfall in the Atacama a few months ago I would love to hear how far north you ventured. Rains in that area are very rare, possibly inducing the appearance of bulbs not seen for any years. Did you go as far north as Copiapo, or even as far north as Antofagasta? Cacti such as Eulychnias amd Copiapoas and even some bromeliads persist in those regions . If you went up there did you find rarely reported bulbs? Andrew San Diego