Rodger wrote, Does anyone know what the technical distinction is between C. corsicum and C. cupanii? Google Images shows a mishmash of plants for both names, with no obvious, consistent anatomical differences. I have an idea that these small colchicum species may be completely mixed up with one another. ------------------ I think they are very confused in cultivation. Without a recent monograph on the genus, we all struggle with identifying colchicums. C. corsicum can (but doesn't always) show a little tessellation, while cupanii never does. The reproductive parts are pretty much identical. I think of C. cupanii as having more bowl-shaped flowers and C. corsicum flowers as being more "goblet-shaped," but that may just be the plants I grow under those names. I have also received seed identified as C. cupanii that produced spring-flowering plants. I don't know what to call them. A number of Colchicum species, including some I actually trust the names on, are flowering here now despite the hot weather. I have a bed along the roadside planted end to end with colchicums, and those that are shaded by some big fir trees flower all at once (notably, Colchicum laetum), earlier than the ones in the sun. I suppose this is caused by cooler soil, since colchicums seem to flower in response to temperature rather than moisture. Jane McGary Portland, Oregon, USA