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Narcissus (flower)
Encyclopedia
Narcissus is a genus
of mainly hardy, mostly spring
-flowering, bulb
s in the Amaryllis
family, subfamily Amaryllidoideae, native to Europe
, North Africa
, and Asia
. There are also several Narcissus species that bloom in the autumn
. Though Hortus Third cites 26 wild species, Daffodils for North American Gardens cites between 50 and 100 including species variants and wild hybrids. Through taxonomic and genetic research
, it is speculated that over time this number will probably continue to be refined. Daffodil is a common English name, sometimes used now for all varieties, and is the chief common name of horticultural prevalence used by the American Daffodil Society. The range of forms in cultivation has been heavily modified and extended, with new variations available from specialists almost every year.
, who, in at least one of many variations of the tale, became so obsessed with his own reflection as he kneeled and gazed into a pool of water that he fell into the water and drowned. In some variations, he died of starvation and thirst from just sitting by the edge of the pool until he gave out, gazing at his reflection until he died. In both versions, the Narcissus plant first sprang from where he died.
The other derivation is that the plant is named after its narcotic
properties (ναρκάω narkao, "I grow numb" in Greek
).
There are several plurals in common use: "Narcissuses", "Narcissi", and "Narcissus". This last is common in American English
but is very rare in British usage
. The American Webster's Third New International Dictionary gives plurals in the order "Narcissus", "Narcissuses", and "Narcissi", but the British Compact Oxford English Dictionary
lists just "Narcissi" and "Narcissuses".
The name Daffodil is derived from an earlier "Affodell", a variant of Asphodel
. The reason for the introduction of the initial "d" is not known, although a probable source is an etymological merging from the Dutch article "de," as in "De affodil." From at least the 16th century, "Daffadown Dilly", "daffadown dilly", and "daffydowndilly" have appeared as playful synonyms of the name.
The name "jonquil" is sometimes used in North America
, particularly in the South,, but strictly speaking that name belongs to only the rush-leaved Narcissus jonquilla
and cultivar
s derived from it.
Flowers of the tazetta-group species Narcissus papyraceus
are commonly called paperwhites.
All Narcissus species have a central bell-, bowl-, or disc-shaped corona surrounded by a ring of six floral leaves called the perianth which is united into a tube at the forward edge of the 3-locular
ovary
. The seeds are black, round and swollen with a hard coat. The three outer segments are sepal
s, and the three inner segments are petal
s. Though the traditional daffodil of folklore
, poetry, and field may have a yellow to golden-yellow color all over, both in the wild species and due to breeding, the perianth and corona may be variously colored. Breeders have developed some daffodils with double, triple, or ambiguously multiple rows and layers of segments, and several wild species also have known double variants.
poison lycorine
, mostly in the bulb but also in the leaves.
On 1 May 2009 a number of school children fell ill at Gorseland Primary School in Martlesham Heath
, Suffolk
, England, after a daffodil bulb was added to soup during a cookery class. The bulbs could often be confused with onion
s, thereby leading to incidents of accidental poisoning.
One of the most common dermatitis
problems for florists, "daffodil itch" involves dryness, fissures, scaling, and erythema
in the hands, often accompanied by subungual
hyperkeratosis
(thickening of the skin beneath the nails). It is blamed on exposure to calcium oxalate
in the sap. It has long been recognised that some cultivars provoke dermatitis more readily than others. The cultivar
s 'Actaea', 'Camparelle', 'Gloriosa', 'Grande Monarque', 'Ornatus', 'Princeps' and 'Scilly White' are particularly troublesome.
, wounds were treated with narcissus root and wheat flour paste
; the plant, however, does not appear in the modern kampo herb list
. The Roman
physician Aulus Cornelius Celsus
listed narcissus root in De Medicina
among medical herbs
, described as emollient
, erodent, and "powerful to disperse whatever has collected in any part of the body". In one scientific study, the ethanol
extract of the bulbs was found effective in one mouse model of nociception
, para-benzoquinone induced abdominal constriction, but not in another, the hot plate test.
Daffodils are grown commercially near Brecon
in Powys
, Wales
, to produce galantamine
, a drug used to combat Alzheimer's disease
.
The ancient Greeks
believed the narcissus plant originated from the vain youth, Narcissus. He died after becoming so obsessed with his reflection in a pool he could not leave. The Greeks say that the gods turned his remains into the Narcissus flower. This also led to the daffodil's being a symbol of unrequited love
.
The Narcissus flower is perceived in the West as a symbol of vanity, in the East as a symbol of wealth and good fortune.
The Narcissus is a national flower symbolising the new year or Newroz in the Kurdish
culture
In ancient China, a legend about a poor but good man holds he was brought many cups of gold and wealth by this flower. Since the flower blooms in early spring, it has also become a symbol of Chinese New Year
. Narcissus bulb carving and cultivation is even an art akin to Japanese bonsai
. If the Narcissus blooms on Chinese New Years, it is said to bring extra wealth and good fortune throughout the year. Its sweet fragrances are highly revered in Chinese culture
.
In classical Persian literature
, the narcissus is a symbol of beautiful eyes, together with other flowers that equal a beautiful face with a spring garden, like rose
s for cheeks and violet
s for shining dark hair.
The daffodil is the national flower
of Wales
, where it is traditional to wear a daffodil or a leek
on Saint David's Day
(March 1).
In some countries the yellow variation is associated with Easter
. The German for daffodil is Osterglocke, that is "Easter bell."
William Wordsworth
's short poem I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
has become linked in the popular mind with the daffodils that form its main image.
Various cancer charities around the world, including the American Cancer Society
, New Zealand Cancer Society, Cancer Council Australia
, and the Irish Cancer Society
, use the daffodil as a fundraising
symbol. "Daffodil Days", first instituted in Toronto
in 1957 by the Canadian Cancer Society
, are organized to raise funds by offering the flowers in return for a donation.
comparable to the genetic lineage
of ADS Divisions 5 through 10, and has also called out garden and/or wild origin.
The divisions are:
Daffodils may be self-colored—i.e., both perianth and corona identical in color and shade—or the colors between the perianth and corona may differ widely. Some perianths and some coronas also may contain more than one color or shade. Prevalent colors are all shades and tones of yellow, white, orange, pink, red and green. Pinks vary from apricot to rose in shades from pale to deep, and some more recent cultivars have hints of lavender or lilac. Reds vary from orange-red to salmon red to near scarlet. Pink, red, orange and green tones are mainly confined to the corona. However, breeders are currently working against the genera's natural pigmentation and genetic barriers to create cultivars in which pink, rose, red, orange and green tones suffuse or "bleed" from the more highly colored coronas onto the perianth segments of white or yellow. There are an increasing number of commercially available varieties which display this enhanced coloration.
The flower's two regions are assigned color somewhat differently. The perianth colors are assigned from (in the case of multiple colors) the outer edge of the segment inward to the base of the corona. The corona colors are assigned from the base of the corona outward to the rim. Thus, Actaea, a Poeticus (Division 9) Daffodil, is officially classified as 9 W-GYR, while Accent, a Large Cup (Division 2) Daffodil possessing a white perianth and a pink corona, is officially classified as 2 W-P.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of mainly hardy, mostly spring
Spring (season)
Spring is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition period between winter and summer. Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. The specific definition of the exact timing of "spring" varies according to local climate, cultures and...
-flowering, bulb
Bulb
A bulb is a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf bases. The leaves often function as food storage organs during dormancy.A bulb's leaf bases, known as scales, generally do not support leaves, but contain food reserves to enable the plant to survive adverse conditions. At the center of the bulb is...
s in the Amaryllis
Amaryllidaceae
Amaryllidoideae is the subfamily of flowering plants that takes its name from the genus Amaryllis. It is part of the family Amaryllidaceae, in order Asparagales...
family, subfamily Amaryllidoideae, native to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
, and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. There are also several Narcissus species that bloom in the autumn
Autumn
Autumn is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter usually in September or March when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier....
. Though Hortus Third cites 26 wild species, Daffodils for North American Gardens cites between 50 and 100 including species variants and wild hybrids. Through taxonomic and genetic research
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
, it is speculated that over time this number will probably continue to be refined. Daffodil is a common English name, sometimes used now for all varieties, and is the chief common name of horticultural prevalence used by the American Daffodil Society. The range of forms in cultivation has been heavily modified and extended, with new variations available from specialists almost every year.
Names
There are two derivations of the name. One is that of the youth of Greek mythology called NarcissusNarcissus (mythology)
Narcissus or Narkissos , possibly derived from ναρκη meaning "sleep, numbness," in Greek mythology was a hunter from the territory of Thespiae in Boeotia who was renowned for his beauty. He was exceptionally proud, in that he disdained those who loved him...
, who, in at least one of many variations of the tale, became so obsessed with his own reflection as he kneeled and gazed into a pool of water that he fell into the water and drowned. In some variations, he died of starvation and thirst from just sitting by the edge of the pool until he gave out, gazing at his reflection until he died. In both versions, the Narcissus plant first sprang from where he died.
The other derivation is that the plant is named after its narcotic
Narcotic
The term narcotic originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with any sleep-inducing properties. In the United States of America it has since become associated with opioids, commonly morphine and heroin and their derivatives, such as hydrocodone. The term is, today, imprecisely...
properties (ναρκάω narkao, "I grow numb" in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
).
There are several plurals in common use: "Narcissuses", "Narcissi", and "Narcissus". This last is common in American English
American English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....
but is very rare in British usage
British English
British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...
. The American Webster's Third New International Dictionary gives plurals in the order "Narcissus", "Narcissuses", and "Narcissi", but the British Compact Oxford English Dictionary
Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English
The Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English is a one-volume dictionary published by Oxford University Press. It is intended for a family or upper secondary school readership...
lists just "Narcissi" and "Narcissuses".
The name Daffodil is derived from an earlier "Affodell", a variant of Asphodel
Asphodel
Asphodelus ramosus, also known as Branched asphodel, is a perennial herb in the Asparagales order. Similar in appearance to Asphodelus albus and particularly Asphodelus cerasiferus, it may be distinguished by its highly branched stem and smaller fruits.In addition, at least on the Catalan coast...
. The reason for the introduction of the initial "d" is not known, although a probable source is an etymological merging from the Dutch article "de," as in "De affodil." From at least the 16th century, "Daffadown Dilly", "daffadown dilly", and "daffydowndilly" have appeared as playful synonyms of the name.
The name "jonquil" is sometimes used in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, particularly in the South,, but strictly speaking that name belongs to only the rush-leaved Narcissus jonquilla
Narcissus jonquilla
Narcissus jonquilla is an old world daffodil that has naturalized throughout Europe and the United States. It is one of the Narcissus species used in Narcissus Oil, a component of many modern perfumes....
and cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
s derived from it.
Flowers of the tazetta-group species Narcissus papyraceus
Narcissus papyraceus
Narcissus papyraceus , commonly known as Paperwhite, is a perennial bulbous plant native to the Mediterranean region. The white flowers are borne in bunches and are strongly fragrant...
are commonly called paperwhites.
Description
Locule
A locule is a small cavity or compartment within an organ or part of an organism ....
ovary
Ovary (plants)
In the flowering plants, an ovary is a part of the female reproductive organ of the flower or gynoecium. Specifically, it is the part of the pistil which holds the ovule and is located above or below or at the point of connection with the base of the petals and sepals...
. The seeds are black, round and swollen with a hard coat. The three outer segments are sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s, and the three inner segments are petal
Petal
Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They often are brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. Together, all of the petals of a flower are called a corolla. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying...
s. Though the traditional daffodil of folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
, poetry, and field may have a yellow to golden-yellow color all over, both in the wild species and due to breeding, the perianth and corona may be variously colored. Breeders have developed some daffodils with double, triple, or ambiguously multiple rows and layers of segments, and several wild species also have known double variants.
Toxicity
All Narcissus species contain the alkaloidAlkaloid
Alkaloids are a group of naturally occurring chemical compounds that contain mostly basic nitrogen atoms. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Also some synthetic compounds of similar structure are attributed to alkaloids...
poison lycorine
Lycorine
Lycorine is a toxic crystalline alkaloid found in several plant species, such as the bush lily , Lycoris, and Narcissus. It may be highly poisonous, or even lethal, when ingested in certain quantities. Symptoms of lycorine toxicity are vomiting, diarrhea, and convulsions...
, mostly in the bulb but also in the leaves.
On 1 May 2009 a number of school children fell ill at Gorseland Primary School in Martlesham Heath
Martlesham Heath
Martlesham Heath village is situated 6 miles east of Ipswich, in Suffolk, England. This was an ancient area of heathland and latterly the site of Martlesham Heath Airfield...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, England, after a daffodil bulb was added to soup during a cookery class. The bulbs could often be confused with onion
Onion
The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
s, thereby leading to incidents of accidental poisoning.
One of the most common dermatitis
Dermatitis
-Etymology:Dermatitis derives from Greek derma "skin" + -itis "inflammation" and genetic disorder.-Terminology:There are several different types of dermatitis. The different kinds usually have in common an allergic reaction to specific allergens. The term may describe eczema, which is also called...
problems for florists, "daffodil itch" involves dryness, fissures, scaling, and erythema
Erythema
Erythema is redness of the skin, caused by hyperemia of the capillaries in the lower layers of the skin. It occurs with any skin injury, infection, or inflammation...
in the hands, often accompanied by subungual
Ungual
An ungual is a highly modified distal toe bone which ends in a hoof, claw, or nail. Elephants and other ungulates have ungual phalanges, as did the sauropods and horned dinosaurs. A claw is a highly modified ungual phalange.As an adjective, ungual means related to nail, as in periungual .-External...
hyperkeratosis
Hyperkeratosis
Hyperkeratosis is thickening of the stratum corneum, often associated with a qualitative abnormality of the keratin, and also usually accompanied by an increase also in the granular layer...
(thickening of the skin beneath the nails). It is blamed on exposure to calcium oxalate
Calcium oxalate
Calcium oxalate is a chemical compound that forms needle-shaped crystals, known in plants as raphides. A major constituent of human kidney stones, the chemical is also found in beerstone, a scale that forms on containers used in breweries...
in the sap. It has long been recognised that some cultivars provoke dermatitis more readily than others. The cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
s 'Actaea', 'Camparelle', 'Gloriosa', 'Grande Monarque', 'Ornatus', 'Princeps' and 'Scilly White' are particularly troublesome.
Medicine
In the traditional Japanese medicine of kampoKampo
, alternatively shortened as just , is the Japanese study and adaptation of Traditional Chinese medicine. The basic works of Chinese medicine came to Japan between the 7th and 9th centuries. Since then, the Japanese have created their own unique herbal medical system and diagnosis...
, wounds were treated with narcissus root and wheat flour paste
Wheatpaste
Wheatpaste is a liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water. It has been used since ancient times for various arts and crafts such as book binding, decoupage, collage, and papier-mâché...
; the plant, however, does not appear in the modern kampo herb list
Kampo herb list
Kampō medicine is the Japanese study and adaptation of Traditional Chinese medicine. In 1967, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare approved 4 kampo medicines for reimbursement under the National Health Insurance program. In 1976, 82 kampo medicines were approved by the Ministry...
. The Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
physician Aulus Cornelius Celsus
Aulus Cornelius Celsus
Aulus Cornelius Celsus was a Roman encyclopedist, known for his extant medical work, De Medicina, which is believed to be the only surviving section of a much larger encyclopedia. The De Medicina is a primary source on diet, pharmacy, surgery and related fields, and it is one of the best sources...
listed narcissus root in De Medicina
De Medicina
De Medicina is a 1st-century medical treatise by Aulus Cornelius Celsus, a Roman encyclopedist and possibly a practicing physician. It is the only surviving section of a much larger encyclopedia; only small parts still survive from sections on agriculture, military science, oratory, jurisprudence...
among medical herbs
Herbalism
Herbalism is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, herblore, and phytotherapy...
, described as emollient
Moisturizer
Moisturizers or emollients are complex mixtures of chemical agents specially designed to make the external layers of the skin softer and more pliable, by increasing its hydration by reducing evaporation. Naturally occurring skin lipids and sterols as well as artificial or natural oils,...
, erodent, and "powerful to disperse whatever has collected in any part of the body". In one scientific study, the ethanol
Ethanol
Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...
extract of the bulbs was found effective in one mouse model of nociception
Nociception
Nociception is defined as "the neural processes of encoding and processing noxious stimuli." It is the afferent activity produced in the peripheral and central nervous system by stimuli that have the potential to damage tissue...
, para-benzoquinone induced abdominal constriction, but not in another, the hot plate test.
Daffodils are grown commercially near Brecon
Brecon
Brecon is a long-established market town and community in southern Powys, Mid Wales, with a population of 7,901. It was the county town of the historic county of Brecknockshire; although its role as such was eclipsed with the formation of Powys, it remains an important local centre...
in Powys
Powys
Powys is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.-Geography:Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire , and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,179 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.It is...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, to produce galantamine
Galantamine
Galantamine is used for the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease and various other memory impairments, in particular those of vascular origin...
, a drug used to combat Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
.
Cultural importance
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
believed the narcissus plant originated from the vain youth, Narcissus. He died after becoming so obsessed with his reflection in a pool he could not leave. The Greeks say that the gods turned his remains into the Narcissus flower. This also led to the daffodil's being a symbol of unrequited love
Unrequited love
Unrequited love is love that is not openly reciprocated or understood as such, even though reciprocation is usually deeply desired. The beloved may or may not be aware of the admirer's deep affections...
.
The Narcissus flower is perceived in the West as a symbol of vanity, in the East as a symbol of wealth and good fortune.
The Narcissus is a national flower symbolising the new year or Newroz in the Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
culture
In ancient China, a legend about a poor but good man holds he was brought many cups of gold and wealth by this flower. Since the flower blooms in early spring, it has also become a symbol of Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year – often called Chinese Lunar New Year although it actually is lunisolar – is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is an all East and South-East-Asia celebration...
. Narcissus bulb carving and cultivation is even an art akin to Japanese bonsai
Bonsai
is a Japanese art form using miniature trees grown in containers. Similar practices exist in other cultures, including the Chinese tradition of penjing from which the art originated, and the miniature living landscapes of Vietnamese hòn non bộ...
. If the Narcissus blooms on Chinese New Years, it is said to bring extra wealth and good fortune throughout the year. Its sweet fragrances are highly revered in Chinese culture
Culture of China
Chinese culture is one of the world's oldest and most complex. The area in which the culture is dominant covers a large geographical region in eastern Asia with customs and traditions varying greatly between towns, cities and provinces...
.
In classical Persian literature
Persian literature
Persian literature spans two-and-a-half millennia, though much of the pre-Islamic material has been lost. Its sources have been within historical Persia including present-day Iran as well as regions of Central Asia where the Persian language has historically been the national language...
, the narcissus is a symbol of beautiful eyes, together with other flowers that equal a beautiful face with a spring garden, like rose
Rose
A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
s for cheeks and violet
Violet (plant)
Viola is a genus of flowering plants in the violet family Violaceae, with around 400–500 species distributed around the world. Most species are found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere; however, viola species are also found in widely divergent areas such as Hawaii, Australasia, and the Andes in...
s for shining dark hair.
The daffodil is the national flower
National symbols of Wales
The National symbols of Wales include a diversity of official and unofficial images and other symbols.-Flags:- Heraldry :-Other symbols:...
of Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, where it is traditional to wear a daffodil or a leek
Leek
The leek, Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum , also sometimes known as Allium porrum, is a vegetable which belongs, along with the onion and garlic, to family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Allioideae...
on Saint David's Day
Saint David's Day
Saint David's Day is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and falls on 1 March each year. The date of 1 March was chosen in remembrance of the death of Saint David. Tradition holds that he died on that day in 589...
(March 1).
In some countries the yellow variation is associated with Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
. The German for daffodil is Osterglocke, that is "Easter bell."
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
's short poem I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" is a poem by William Wordsworth.It was inspired by an April 15, 1802 event in which Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy, came across a "long belt" of daffodils...
has become linked in the popular mind with the daffodils that form its main image.
Various cancer charities around the world, including the American Cancer Society
American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization" dedicated, in their own words, "to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and...
, New Zealand Cancer Society, Cancer Council Australia
Cancer Council Australia
Cancer Council Australia is a national, not for profit organisation which aims to promote cancer-control policies and to reduce the illness caused by cancer in Australia...
, and the Irish Cancer Society
Irish Cancer Society
The Irish Cancer Society is the national charity in the Ireland dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem, and improving the lives of those living with cancer ....
, use the daffodil as a fundraising
Fundraising
Fundraising or fund raising is the process of soliciting and gathering voluntary contributions as money or other resources, by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies...
symbol. "Daffodil Days", first instituted in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
in 1957 by the Canadian Cancer Society
Canadian Cancer Society
The Canadian Cancer Society is a national, community-based charitable organization of volunteers whose mission is to eradicate cancer and enhance the quality of life of those living with the disease....
, are organized to raise funds by offering the flowers in return for a donation.
Horticultural divisions
The American Daffodil Society - ADS divides all Narcissus into 13 horticultural divisions, based partly upon flower form and partly upon genetic background. Since the ADS Web site is written for general consumption, the text of the descriptions contained there is relatively broad. Horticulturist Robert F. Gabella of GardenOpus has further clarified herein these definitions by replacement of the words "cup" with "corona", "petals" with "perianth segments", and clarified corona length and corona radius for cases where the corona does not protrude outward. Gabella has further emphasized the prevalence of species phenotypePhenotype
A phenotype is an organism's observable characteristics or traits: such as its morphology, development, biochemical or physiological properties, behavior, and products of behavior...
comparable to the genetic lineage
Lineage (genetic)
A genetic lineage is a series of mutations which connect an ancestral genetic type to derivative type. In cases where the genetic tree is very bushy the order of mutations in the lineage is mostly known, examples are the order of mutations between E1b1b and E1b1b1a1a for the human Y-chromosome...
of ADS Divisions 5 through 10, and has also called out garden and/or wild origin.
The divisions are:
- Division 1: Trumpet Daffodils. Plants are of garden origin. Corona length is equal to or exceeds the length of the perianth segments, flowers are borne one to a stem.
- Division 2: Large-cupped Daffodils. Plants are of garden origin. Corona length, or corona radius if flattened, is more than 1/3 but less than equal to the length of the perianth segments; flowers are borne one to a stem.
- Division 3: Small-cupped Daffodils. Corona length, or corona radius if flattened, is no more than 1/3 the length of the perianth segments; flowers are borne one to a stem.
- Division 4: Double Daffodils. Any daffodil in which more than one layer of perianth segments and/or more than one layer of corona segments are present. The combination of doubled perianth and corona segments can vary widely between cultivars, and there may be one or more flowers per stem, also varying by cultivar.
- Division 5: Triandrus Daffodils. Characteristics of Narcissus triandrusNarcissus triandrusNarcissus triandrus is a species of bulbous plant native to southwestern Europe. The common name is "Angel's Tears", and the plant has pendulant cream to yellowish flowers.-Source:* Germplasm Resources Information Network, , accessed on 2008-05-08....
and its allies clearly evident; flowers hang more or less downward, perianth segments are often reflexed, and plants most often bear two or more flowers per stem. - Division 6: Cyclamineus Daffodils. Characteristics of Narcissus cyclamineus and its allies clearly evident; perianth segments are often reflexed or wind-swept in appearance, corona length varies but can sometimes exceed the perianth segment length, and flowers are borne one to a stem.
- Division 7: Jonquilla Daffodils. Characteristics of Narcissus jonquillaNarcissus jonquillaNarcissus jonquilla is an old world daffodil that has naturalized throughout Europe and the United States. It is one of the Narcissus species used in Narcissus Oil, a component of many modern perfumes....
and its allies clearly evident; flowers are small to medium sized, perianth segments are flat, corona length varies but is usually short and semi-spherical, foliage may be rush-like and dark green as in the species but phenotypic distillation through crossbreeding between divisions has produced a range of foliage types. Fragrance is usually prominent. Flowers may be borne one to several to a stem, depending upon cultivar. - Division 8: Tazetta (Poetaz or Bunch-flowered) Daffodils. Characteristics may be intermediate between Narcissus tazettaNarcissus tazettaNarcissus tazetta is a perennial ornamental plant that grows from a bulb....
and its allies and/or N. tazetta in combination with Narcissus poeticus is ambiguously evident. Perianth segments are flat, corona length is usually short and semi-spherical. Fragrance is usually prominent. Flowers may be borne in clusters of a few to over a dozen per stem, depending upon cultivar.
- Division 9: Poeticus (Poet's) Daffodils. Characteristics of Narcissus poeticus and its allies clearly evident; flowers are medium sized, perianth segments are flat and nearly always white, corona is small, flat, and wrinkled—usually green eyed and orange-to-red banded—often with intermediate shades of yellow. Fragrance is usually prominent. Flowers are usually borne one, but very occasionally two, to a stem.
- Division 10: Bulbocodium Daffodils. Characteristics of Narcissus bulbocodium and its allies clearly evident; flowers are small, perianth segments are small, linear to awl-shaped, corona is very large in proportion to the perianth and "hoop petticoat" or bowl shaped, foliage is usually rush-like and dark green as in the species. Flowers are borne one to a stem.
- Division 11: Split-corona (Split cup, Butterfly) Daffodils. Plants are of garden origin and can represent any potential genetic background. The corona, which can be any length or orientation, is radially split from the outer rim inward at more than half its natural length. The splitting can occur triradially or hexiradially, and in some cases the segments may be broad enough to underlap and overlap alternating perianth segments. Though flowers are most often borne one to a stem, there are cultivars with multiple flowers per stem. Division 11 is subdivided as follows:
- a) Collar Daffodils. Corona segments lie opposite the perianth segments and are usually in two whorls of three, giving a frilly apparance
- b) Papillon Daffodils. Corona segments lie alternate to the perianth segments and are usually in a single whorl of six, the cup being flatter and more open. These often have a sunburst streaked colour pattern.
- Division 12: Miscellaneous Daffodils. Any daffodils of garden origin not classifiable by the first 11 Divisions. They may be inter-division hybrids, or of such ambiguous heritage or phenotype that they do not easily fit into any of the above divisions. This includes the dwarf daffodil "Tete-a-Tete".
- Division 13: Species, Wild Variants and Wild Hybrids. All Daffodils occurring naturally in the wild. Plants of the preceding 12 divisions are all of garden origin.
- Miniature Daffodils - Miniature Daffodils are not an official ADS Division; miniatures can occur in each of the other 13 Divisions and possess the same descriptive characteristics. However, the flowers are 1.5 in (3.8 cm) or less in diameter, and ideally are borne on proportionally smaller plants.
Color range and classification
- ADS Color Classification:
- W = White or whitish
- G = Green
- Y = Yellow
- P = Pink
- O = Orange
- R = Red
The flower's two regions are assigned color somewhat differently. The perianth colors are assigned from (in the case of multiple colors) the outer edge of the segment inward to the base of the corona. The corona colors are assigned from the base of the corona outward to the rim. Thus, Actaea, a Poeticus (Division 9) Daffodil, is officially classified as 9 W-GYR, while Accent, a Large Cup (Division 2) Daffodil possessing a white perianth and a pink corona, is officially classified as 2 W-P.
Gallery
External links
- American Daffodil Society - ADS
- DaffSeek - Database of daffodils with photos
- Daffodils at the Royal Horticultural SocietyRoyal Horticultural SocietyThe Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert...
- Wildflowers of Israel
- Daffodil Festivals, Gardens, & Fields 2010
- Narcissus perennialization Research Newsletter Number 3. (April 2004) Flower Bulb Research Program Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University