Narcissus pseudonarcissus

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Wild daffodil or Lent lily
Narcissus pseudonarcissus flower 300303.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Amaryllidaceae
Subfamily: Amaryllidoideae
Genus: Narcissus
Species:
N. pseudonarcissus
Binomial name
Narcissus pseudonarcissus
L.
Synonyms

See text

N. pseudonarcissus - MHNT Narcissus pseudonarcissus MHNT.BOT.2009.13.31.jpg
N. pseudonarcissus - MHNT
N. pseudonarcissus, from Lady Wilkinson's Weeds and wild flowers 1858 Berrington NPseudo.jpg
N. pseudonarcissus, from Lady Wilkinson's Weeds and wild flowers 1858
Narcissus as Cut flower Narzisse - cut flower.jpg
Narcissus as Cut flower

Narcissus pseudonarcissus, commonly named the wild daffodil or Lent lily (Welsh : Cennin Pedr), is a perennial flowering plant. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Contents

This species has pale yellow tepals, with a darker central trumpet. The long, narrow leaves are slightly greyish green in colour and rise from the base of the stem. The plant grows from a bulb. The flowers produce seeds which, when germinated, take five to seven years to produce a flowering plant. (Sexual seed reproduction mixes the traits of both parent flowers, so if garden hybrid cultivars are planted close to wild populations of Narcissus pseudonarcissus, there is a danger that the new seedlings, having hybrid vigour, could out-compete the wild plants.) [7]

Distribution

Narcissus pseudonarcissus growing in Hallerbos (Belgium) Hallerbos (DSC 2258).jpg
Narcissus pseudonarcissus growing in Hallerbos (Belgium)

The species is native to Western Europe from Spain and Portugal east to Germany and north to England and Wales. It is commonly grown in gardens and populations have become established in the Balkans, Australia, New Zealand, the Caucasus, Madeira, British Columbia, Ontario, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Oregon, Washington state, much of the eastern United States, and the Falkland Islands. Wild plants grow in woods, grassland and on rocky ground. In Britain native populations have decreased substantially since the 19th century due to intensification of agriculture, clearance of woodland and uprooting of the bulbs for use in gardens. In Germany it was a subject of a national awareness campaign for the protection of wildflowers in 1981.

In England, the Farndale valley in the North York Moors National Park hosts a large population of the species, along the banks of the River Dove. There are several nature reserves in Gloucestershire supporting large populations of the species near Dymock Woods SSSI. There is a Daffodil Walk Trail around several reserves in the spring. [8] [9] In addition, various cultivars of N. pseudonarcissus have escaped and become naturalised across the United Kingdom, and can often be found growing on roadsides, in parks, [10] along streams and in areas where bulbs have been deposited alongside other organic material removed from gardens. [11]

Taxonomy

Synonyms

The history of N. pseudonarcissus has generated a large number of synonyms, [12] including:

Synonym list 
Ajax breviflosHaw.
Ajax cambricusHaw.
Ajax capaxM.Roem.
Ajax cernuusHaw.
Ajax cuneifoliusHaw.
Ajax fenestralisGray
Ajax festalis(Salisb.) Salisb.
Ajax festinusJord.
Ajax gayiHénon
Ajax hexangularis(Haw.) Herb.
Ajax lobularisHaw.
Ajax montinusJord.
Ajax multicusJ.Gay
Ajax platylobusJord.
Ajax porrigensJord.
Ajax praelongusJord.
Ajax pseudonarcissus(L.) Haw.
Ajax pygmaeusM.Roem.
Ajax radiansM.Roem.
Ajax rudbeckiiM.Roem.
Ajax sabiniamusHerb.
Ajax serratus(Haw.) Haw.
Ajax serratus var. suavisHaw.
Ajax sexangularisM.Roem.
Ajax telamoniusHaw.
Ajax telamonius var. grandiplenusHaw.
Ajax telamonius var. plenusHaw.
Ganymedes cernuusHaw.
Narcissus ajaxSweet
Narcissus andersoniiSabine ex M.Roem.
Narcissus breviflos(Haw.) Steud.
Narcissus festalisSalisb.
Narcissus gayi(Hénon) Pugsley
Narcissusgayi var. praelongus(Jord.) Pugsley
Narcissus glaucusHornem.
Narcissus horsfeldiiBurb.
Narcissus luteusBubani
Narcissus pisanusPugsley
Narcissus radiansLapeyr.
Narcissus renaudiiBavoux.
Narcissus serratusHaw.
Narcissus sylvestrisLam.
Narcissus telamonius(Haw.) Link
Oileus hexangularisHaw.

Subspecies

There are a number of subspecies of the wild daffodil but the exact number varies according to different authors. The large number of cultivars adds to the difficulty of classification. Among the subspecies is the Tenby daffodil (N. pseudonarcissus ssp. obvallaris, sometimes classed as a separate species), which probably originated in cultivation but now grows wild in southwest Wales. Many of the subspecies listed below are currently considered as species by the Royal Horticultural Society, the International Cultivar Registration Authority for daffodils. [13] Those marked agm are recipients of the RHS Award of Garden Merit.

Varieties

Narcissus pseudonarcissus ssp. pseudonarcissus itself has many varieties (described by H.W. Pugsley in an article in the Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society of 1933), including var. festinus, var. humilis, var. insignis, var. minoriformis, var. montinus, var. platylobus and var. porrigens. The eighth variety described by Pugsley, var. pisanus, was further defined by A. Fernandes in the Daffodil and Tulip Year Book of 1968.

Double-flowered cultivars

Recent research in Wales, southwest England and northern France by keen horticulturists has discovered a small number of remarkably distinct, double-flowered specimens of N. pseudonarcissus growing among wild or naturalised populations of normal N. pseudonarcissus. Such rare forms were known to exist as long ago as the late 16th and early 17th century by botanists and herbalists such as John Gerard and John Parkinson, who variously described them as "Pseudonarcissus Anglicus flore pleno", "Gerrards double Daffodill" and later "The English Double Daffodil". Bulbs have been collected with the landowners' permission and it is hoped that some of these unusual cultivars may become commercially available in the future. [17]

Emblem

The daffodil is the national flower of Wales, it is called Cennin Pedr (Peter's Leek) in Welsh. The daffodil is also the county flower of Gloucestershire. [18]

Health risks

Like all Narcissus species, daffodils contain the alkaloid poison lycorine, mostly in the bulb, but also in the leaves. [19] [20] Because of this, daffodil bulbs and leaves should never be eaten.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Narcissus</i> (plant) Genus of plants in family Amaryllidaceae

Narcissus is a genus of predominantly spring flowering perennial plants of the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae. Various common names including daffodil, narcissus, and jonquil, are used to describe all or some members of the genus. Narcissus has conspicuous flowers with six petal-like tepals surmounted by a cup- or trumpet-shaped corona. The flowers are generally white and yellow, with either uniform or contrasting coloured tepals and corona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daylily</span> Genus of flowering plants

A daylily, day lily or ditch-lily is a flowering plant in the genus Hemerocallis, a member of the family Asphodelaceae, subfamily Hemerocallidoideae, native to Asia. Despite the common name, it is not, in fact, a lily, nor does it specifically grow in ditches. Gardening enthusiasts and horticulturists have long bred Hemerocallis species for their attractive flowers; a select few species of the genus have edible petals, while some are extremely toxic. Thousands of cultivars have been registered by the American Daylily Society, the only internationally recognized registrant according to the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants. The plants are perennial, bulbous plants, whose common name alludes to its flowers, which typically last about a day.

<i>Fritillaria meleagris</i> Species of flowering plants in the family Liliaceae

Fritillaria meleagris is a Eurasian species of flowering plant in the lily family Liliaceae. Its common names include snake's head fritillary, snake's head, chess flower, frog-cup, guinea-hen flower, guinea flower, leper lily, Lazarus bell, chequered lily, chequered daffodil, drooping tulip or, in the British Isles, simply fritillary. The plant is a bulbous perennial native to the flood river plains of Europe where it grows in abundance.

<i>Leucojum</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae

Leucojum is a small genus of bulbous plants native to Eurasia belonging to the amaryllis family, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. As currently circumscribed, the genus includes only two known species, most former species having been moved into the genus Acis. Both genera are known as snowflakes.

<i>Narcissus poeticus</i> Species of plant

Narcissus poeticus, the poet's daffodil, poet's narcissus, nargis, pheasant's eye, findern flower or pinkster lily, was one of the first daffodils to be cultivated, and is frequently identified as the narcissus of ancient times. It is also often associated with the Greek legend of Narcissus. It is the type species of the genus Narcissus and is widely naturalised in North America.

<i>Narcissus tazetta</i> Species of daffodil

Narcissus tazetta is a perennial ornamental plant that grows from a bulb. Cultivars of N. tazetta include 'Caniculatus', 'Grand Soleil d'Or' and 'Ziva', which are popularly used for forcing indoors, as is the form of N. tazetta known as Chinese Sacred Lily.

<i>Narcissus asturiensis</i> Species of daffodil

Narcissus asturiensis, the pygmy daffodil, is a perennial bulbous plant native to the mountains of North Portugal and Spain, where it grows at altitudes up to 2000 m (6000 ft). As of March 2022, Kew sources consider the correct name to be Narcissus cuneiflorus.

<i>Acer palmatum</i> Species of maple

Acer palmatum, commonly known as Japanese maple, palmate maple, or smooth Japanese maple (Korean: danpungnamu, 단풍나무, Japanese: irohamomiji, イロハモミジ, or momiji,, is a species of woody plant native to Korea, Japan, China, eastern Mongolia, and southeast Russia. Many different cultivars of this maple have been selected and they are grown worldwide for their large variety of attractive forms, leaf shapes, and spectacular colors.

<i>Narcissus romieuxii</i> Species of daffodil

Narcissus romieuxii is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae. It is a distinctive, early-flowering daffodil with dark green rush-like foliage. The flowers have narrow perianth segments, while the trumpet is wide and flaring. It blooms in mid to late winter. There are many subspecies and cultivars, with flowers in many shades of white and yellow. It originated in the Atlas Mountains region of Morocco.

<i>Narcissus bulbocodium</i> Species of flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae

Narcissus bulbocodium, the petticoat daffodil or hoop-petticoat daffodil, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae, native to southern and western France, Portugal, and Spain. Some sources say that the species is also native to Morocco, but this is based on populations formerly thought to be varieties of N. bulbocodium but now regarded as separate species.

<i>Narcissus cyclamineus</i> Species of daffodil

Narcissus cyclamineus, the cyclamen-flowered daffodil, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae, native to North West Portugal and North West Spain.

Taxonomy of <i>Narcissus</i> Classification of daffodils

The taxonomy of Narcissus is complex, and still not fully resolved. Known to the ancients, the genus name appears in Graeco-Roman literature, although their interest was as much medicinal as botanical. It is unclear which species the ancients were familiar with. Although frequently mentioned in Mediaeval and Renaissance texts it was not formally described till the work of Linnaeus in 1753. By 1789 it had been grouped into a family (Narcissi) but shortly thereafter this was renamed Amaryllideae, from which comes the modern placement within Amaryllidaceae, although for a while it was considered part of Liliaceae.

<i>Narcissus moschatus</i> Species of plant in the genus Narcissus

Narcissus moschatus, the swan's neck daffodil, is a species of Narcissus native to the Pyrenees. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

<i>Narcissus</i> Tête-à-tête Narcissus Cultivar Tête-à-tête Daffodil

Narcissus 'Tête-à-tête' is a hybrid cultivar of Narcissus, which was introduced in 1949. It is one of 110 cultivars produced by British daffodil breeder Alec Gray. 'Tête-à-tête' is a popular ornamental plant, which is known for its very early flowering period and short stature. This cultivar is commonly used as a garden plant where it can be planted in pots, rock gardens, garden borders and even naturalized in lawns. The cultivar name 'Tête-à-tête' means to have a conversation between two people, which relates to the cultivar often hosting a pair of flowers per stem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narcissus 'Rip van Winkle'</span> Narcissus Cultivar Rip van Winkle Daffodil

Narcissus 'Rip van Winkle' is an heirloom cultivar of Narcissus, which was first introduced commercially in 1884. When the cultivar was produced is unknown, however it is believed this historic cultivar originated in Irish gardens. The cultivar was first distributed by plantsman William Baylor Hartland of Country Cork, Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narcissus 'King Alfred'</span> Daffodil cultivar

Narcissus 'King Alfred' is a cultivar of daffodil which originates in the county of Devon, United Kingdom. The cultivar is named after English king of the Anglo-Saxons, Alfred the Great.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narcissus 'Jetfire'</span> Daffodil cultivar

Narcissus 'Jetfire' is a cultivar of dwarf Narcissus, which was introduced in 1966. It is one of many cultivars produced by American daffodil breeder Grant E. Mitsch. 'Jetfire' is a popular early flowering ornamental plant utilized in gardens, where it can be planted into borders, flowerpots, and naturalized in lawns. The cultivar has received multiple awards, including the Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society.

References

  1. Linnaeus, Carl. 1753. Species Plantarum 1: 289, Narcissus pseudonarcissus
  2. Gray, Samuel Frederick. 1821. Natural Arrangement of British Plants, According to Their Relation to Each Other 2:191, as Ajax fenestralis
  3. Jordan, Claude Thomas Alexis. 1903. Jord. & Fourr. Icon. Fl. Eur. iii. 2. as Ajax festinus
  4. Pugsley, Herbert William. 1933. Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society 1933, 58:72, as Narcissus gayi
  5. Sell, Peter Derek. 1996. Flora of Great Britain and Ireland 5: 364, as Narcissus pseudonarcissus forma pleniflorus
  6. Haworth, Adrian Hardy. 1831. Monog. Narciss. 4, as Oileus hexangularis
  7. Simons, Paul (26 April 2013). "Plantwatch: Under attack – the wild British daffodil". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 Dec 2014.
  8. 2011, 'Nature Reserve Guide', Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust published for its 50th anniversary
  9. 'The Daffodil Trails', (undated), Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust
  10. "Wild daffodil | The Wildlife Trusts". www.wildlifetrusts.org. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  11. "Cultivated Daffodil agg. | NatureSpot". www.naturespot.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  12. "Narcissus pseudonarcissus L. — The Plant List". www.theplantlist.org.
  13. "Botanical names in the genus Narcissus". rhs.org.uk. Royal Horticultural Society. December 2016. Retrieved 2017-07-02.
  14. "Narcissus pseudonarcissus subsp. pseudonarcissus". RHS. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  15. "Narcissus moschatus". RHS. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  16. "Narcissus obvallaris". RHS. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  17. Street, Alan (2014). Double Lent lily. London: Royal Horticultural Society. pp. 12–15. ISBN   9781907057533.{{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
  18. Plantlife website County Flowers page Archived 2015-04-30 at the Wayback Machine
  19. Food and nutrition Daffodil dinner Archived 2009-01-04 at the Wayback Machine David Trinklein, Department of Horticulture, University of Missouri, Accessed March 2008
  20. "Pupils ill after bulb put in soup". BBC News. 2009-05-03. Retrieved 2010-03-27.

Further reading

Newton, Rosemary; Hay, Fiona; Ellis, Richard (February 2015). "Ecophysiology of seed dormancy and the control of germination in early spring-flowering Galanthus nivalis and Narcissus pseudonarcissus (Amaryllidaceae)". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 177 (2): 246–262. doi: 10.1111/boj.12240 .

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