Jane gave a charming example of the way in which plants can help us make friends. Here's one from my life. Thirty years ago I worked in an office with a ;very bright woman from India who had been hired to do clerical work far below her potential. She was my go-to person for questions about things related to India - politics, food, languages (aspirated consonants were of particular interest to me back then. Classical Greek supposedly had them, Many languages of India still do. It turns out that American English is full of them - it's just that we don't distinguish between aspirated and non-aspirated consonants -the difference is not phonemically significant to us. One day i asked her about the use of saffron in India. She spoke of it almost reverently, telling me about religious practices in which it figured, rarity and expense. The following November I had a surprise for her: I brought her a handful of freshly picked saffron flowers. She was flabbergasted: she had already encountered adulterated saffron here in the states (including the usual offender, Mexican saffron from Carthamus tinctorius) and she seemed to regard me as a miracle worker. one who cast off the ignorance of the mob and knew the real truth. Well, anyway,I gave her some corms later and she grew them successfully and acquired some fame among her circle of fellow Indians who had no idea it could be grown here. Years ago I spent about $50 for a gaily decorated little metal box of saffron from Spain. A few years ago I checked the current price and it seems to have quadrupled in value since then. It's also been in the fridge since then.Jim McKenney _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…