Narcissus () is the botanic name for a
genus of mainly hardy, mostly
spring-flowering,
bulbs in the
Amaryllis family 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.
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 sixteenth 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 only to the rush-leaved Narcissus jonquilla and cultivars derived from it.
Flowers of the tazetta-group species Narcissus papyraceus are commonly called paperwhites.
Description
All
Narcissus species have a central trumpet-, 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 hard coat. The three outer segments are
sepals, and the three inner segments are
petals. 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.
Toxicity
All Narcissus varieties contain the alkaloid 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 adding a daffodil bulb to soup during a cookery class. The bulbs could often be confused with onions, thereby leading to incidents of accidental poisoning. It has long been recognised that that some cultivars provoke dermatitis more readily than others. The cultivars 'Actaea,' 'Camparelle,' 'Gloriosa,' 'Grande Monarque,' 'Ornatus,' 'Princeps' and 'Scilly White' are particularly troublesome.
Medicine
In
kampo (traditional Japanese medicine), wounds were treated with narcissus root and wheat flour paste, though it 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.
Species
in Bretherton in 2009]]
.]]
Cultural importance
The Narcissus flower is perceived quite differently in the east than in the west. Whereas in the west, the Narcissus flower is seen as a symbol of vanity, in China, the same flower is seen as a symbol of wealth and good fortune. The ancient Greeks believed this 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 being a symbol of unrequited love. In ancient China, there is a legend about a poor but good man, who 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 your Narcissus blooms on Chinese New Years, it is said to bring you extra wealth and good fortune throughout the year. On top of that, it has one of the sweetest fragrances of any flower. So it is highly revered in Chinese culture.
In Hawaii, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii sponsors a Chinese cultural festival, called the Narcissus Festival, culminating with a beauty pageant whose winner is called the Narcissus Queen.
The daffodil is the national flower of Wales. One species, Narcissus obvallaris, grows only in a small area around Tenby. In Wales it is traditional to wear a daffodil or a leek on Saint David's Day (March 1). This has led to suggestions that the word "daffodil" may have been influenced by the name "Dafydd," a Welsh form of "David" (see Etymology). However, in Welsh, the daffodil is known as Cenhinen Bedr (Peter's Leek).
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.
In the movie Big Fish, Edward Bloom plants a field of daffodils outside of Sandra Templeton's window in order to win her heart.
In Ridley Scott's Alien, the Nostromo's shuttle craft in which Ripley played out the final battle with the alien was called Narcissus.
In Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, Amanda Wingfield carries in a bunch of jonquils, a type of daffodil, in her preparation for the Gentlemen Caller. She then reminisces that when she was young, and had many gentlemen callers, she was showered in jonquils by her many admirers.
There is a Daffodil Festival in Nantucket, MA the last weekend in April of every year. In this celebration of spring hundreds of antique cars are adorned with thousands of daffodils.
The Irish Band The Cranberries have a song called "Daffodil Lament".
Daffodils are a part of E. E. Cummings' poem, "in a time of daffodils".
Freddie Mercury has been quoted as saying "I'm as gay as a daffodil, my dear."
In the visual novel Narcissu, which is named after the flower, a pair of patients with terminal illnesses (one with cancer) escape from hospice to journey to an island filled with daffodils. The Greek myth of Narcissus also serves as a metaphor in the novel.
In an episode of Futurama, "Daffodil" appears mysteriously as number two on Bender's most commonly spoken words. Daffodils are also a recurring visual gag, usually described as everyone's favorite flowers and are the only flowers most characters present others with.
In the manga and anime series Bleach, the insignia for the Tenth Division is the daffodil; the meaning behind it is Mystery, Egoism.
The American superband Them Crooked Vultures has a song called "Spinning in Daffodils"
The Daffodil was voted the county flower of Gloucestershire following a survey by the wild flower and plant conservation charity, Plantlife.
Symbol of Cancer Research
Various cancer charities around the world use the daffodil as a fundraising symbol. "Daffodil Days" are organized to raise funds by offering the flowers in return for a donation. The
Canadian Cancer Society was the first to institute
Daffodil Days in
Toronto in 1957.
Other organisations to have adopted the daffodil as a symbol for fundraising include:
*American Cancer Society
New Zealand Cancer Society
The Cancer Council Australia
Irish Cancer Society
Marie Curie Cancer Care
Horticultural divisions
,
UK]]
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
phenotype comparable to the genetic lineage of ADS Divisions 5 through 10, and has also called out garden and/or wild origin.
See also
List of daffodil varieties
References
External links
Difference between daffodil and narcissus, or see first paragraph of the present article
American Daffodil Society - ADS
DaffSeek - Database of daffodils with photos
RHS.org.uk
Wildflowers of Israel
Daffodil Festival on Nantucket
Daffodil Festivals, Gardens, & Fields 2010
Category:Amaryllidaceae genera
Category:Flowers
Category:Garden plants
Category:National symbols of Wales
Category:Poisonous plants
Category:Symbols of Hades
