Well, I certainly hope that my Z odorata, from PBS seeds, is strongly scented of freesias, as promised by Manning and Goldblatt. Perhaps freesia is one of those scents (like cyanide) that is not detected by everyone. Or maybe Duncan has a poor sense of smell. There is a difference of opinion about the time of flowering. The wiki copies the veldflora article, saying that odorata flowers in July and August, and so does the Color Encyclopedia of Cape Bulbs, by Manning and Goldblatt. However, the same two authors, in their South African Wildflower Guide 9: Nieuwoudtville, Bokkeveld Plateau and Hantam, set the flowering time as September and October. The photo on the wiki was taken in September. It is a Red Data Species, endemic near Nieuwoudtville, and deciduous, while the evergreen aethiopica is more widespread. I was in the area in September, and looked for it without success. Diane Whitehead Victoria, British Columbia, Canada On 2014-01-14, at 3:52 AM, David Pilling wrote: > James SHIELDS How does one tell for sure whether they are the rare >> >> odorata or the common aethiopica? > > David PILLING wrote: > The wiki page: > > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/… > > has a link to a key: > > http://plantzafrica.com/veldflora/1995/… > > from which it seems a fine distinction. There's also a quote from Duncan > that Z. odorata is not more smelly than Z. aethiopica. >