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Narcissus pseudonarcissus
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<h2 id="distribution">Distribution</h2> <p>The species is native to Western Europe from <a href="/facts/Spain/bIyrB8EY">Spain</a> and <a href="/facts/Portugal/lYzwDQ63">Portugal</a> east to <a href="/facts/Germany/paluuWBX">Germany</a> and north to <a href="/facts/England/U9mE5bGL">England</a> and <a href="/facts/Wales/xa3W6PHH">Wales</a>. It is commonly grown in gardens and populations have become established in the <a href="/facts/Balkans/5Hy8ly0d">Balkans</a>, <a href="/facts/Australia/qLHpbppq">Australia</a>, <a href="/facts/New_Zealand/4mpSlJdg">New Zealand</a>, the <a href="/facts/Caucasus/sE8P8Ejg">Caucasus</a>, <a href="/facts/Madeira/HRlYxvhe">Madeira</a>, <a href="/facts/British_Columbia/Ty3e3g1Q">British Columbia</a>, <a href="/facts/Ontario/HUkxk5Rf">Ontario</a>, <a href="/facts/Newfoundland/3rdY8zvo">Newfoundland</a>, <a href="/facts/Nova_Scotia/RcmIvd1A">Nova Scotia</a>, <a href="/facts/Oregon/4Uq446Ko">Oregon</a>, <a href="/facts/Washington_(state)/7tCrTFnN">Washington state</a>, much of the <a href="/facts/Eastern_United_States/VnPT6jFW">eastern United States</a>, and the <a href="/facts/Falkland_Islands/a6FdpUEA">Falkland Islands</a>. Wild plants grow in woods, <a href="/facts/Grassland/T4P1kqT0">grassland</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Flower_of_the_Year_Campaign_in_Germany/CUHL8qnB">awareness campaign</a> for the protection of wildflowers in 1981. </p><p>In England, the <a href="/facts/Farndale/Is81ETr1">Farndale</a> valley in the <a href="/facts/North_York_Moors_National_Park/1vg8LXcP">North York Moors National Park</a> hosts a large population of the species, along the banks of the River Dove. There are several nature reserves in <a href="/facts/Gloucestershire/oU1K8E4K">Gloucestershire</a> supporting large populations of the species near <a href="/facts/Dymock_Woods_SSSI/50BkpVon">Dymock Woods SSSI</a>. There is a Daffodil Walk Trail around several reserves in the spring.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> In addition, various cultivars of <i>N. pseudonarcissus</i> have escaped and become naturalised across the United Kingdom, and can often be found growing on roadsides, in parks,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> along streams and in areas where bulbs have been deposited alongside other organic material removed from gardens.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="taxonomy">Taxonomy</h2> <h3>Synonyms</h3> <p>The history of <i>N. pseudonarcissus</i> has generated a large number of synonyms,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> including: </p> <table><tbody><tr><th>Synonym list </th></tr><tr><td><i>Ajax breviflos</i> Haw.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Ajax cambricus</i> Haw.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Ajax capax</i> M.Roem.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Ajax cernuus</i> Haw.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Ajax cuneifolius</i> Haw.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Ajax fenestralis</i> Gray</td></tr><tr><td><i>Ajax festalis</i> (Salisb.) Salisb.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Ajax festinus</i> Jord.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Ajax gayi</i> Hénon</td></tr><tr><td><i>Ajax hexangularis</i> (Haw.) Herb.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Ajax lobularis</i> Haw.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Ajax montinus</i> Jord.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Ajax multicus</i> J.Gay</td></tr><tr><td><i>Ajax platylobus</i> Jord.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Ajax porrigens</i> Jord.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Ajax praelongus</i> Jord.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Ajax pseudonarcissus</i> (L.) Haw.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Ajax pygmaeus</i> M.Roem.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Ajax radians</i> M.Roem.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Ajax rudbeckii</i> M.Roem.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Ajax sabiniamus</i> Herb.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Ajax serratus</i> (Haw.) Haw.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Ajax serratus</i> var. <i>suavis</i> Haw.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Ajax sexangularis</i> M.Roem.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Ajax telamonius</i> Haw.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Ajax telamonius</i> var. <i>grandiplenus</i> Haw.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Ajax telamonius</i> var. <i>plenus</i> Haw.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Ganymedes cernuus</i> Haw.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Narcissus ajax</i> Sweet</td></tr><tr><td><i>Narcissus andersonii</i> Sabine ex M.Roem.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Narcissus breviflos</i> (Haw.) Steud.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Narcissus festalis</i> Salisb.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Narcissus gayi</i> (Hénon) Pugsley</td></tr><tr><td><i>Narcissus</i> <i>gayi</i> var. <i>praelongus</i> (Jord.) Pugsley</td></tr><tr><td><i>Narcissus glaucus</i> Hornem.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Narcissus horsfeldii</i> Burb.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Narcissus luteus</i> Bubani</td></tr><tr><td><i>Narcissus pisanus</i> Pugsley</td></tr><tr><td><i>Narcissus radians</i> Lapeyr.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Narcissus renaudii</i> Bavoux.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Narcissus serratus</i> Haw.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Narcissus sylvestris</i> Lam.</td></tr><tr><td><i>Narcissus telamonius</i> (Haw.) Link</td></tr><tr><td><i>Oileus hexangularis</i> Haw.</td></tr></tbody></table> <h3>Subspecies</h3> <p>There are a number of <a href="/facts/Subspecies/4L9jFacF">subspecies</a> of the wild <a href="/facts/Daffodil/1d2bmeJ5">daffodil</a> but the exact number varies according to different authors. The large number of <a href="/facts/Cultivar/nfaLJJM3">cultivars</a> adds to the difficulty of classification. Among the subspecies is the Tenby daffodil (<i>N. pseudonarcissus</i> ssp. <i>obvallaris</i>, sometimes classed as a separate species), which probably originated in cultivation but now grows wild in southwest <a href="/facts/Wales/xa3W6PHH">Wales</a>. Many of the subspecies listed below are currently considered as species by the <a href="/facts/Royal_Horticultural_Society/QrtXmlUo">Royal Horticultural Society</a>, the <a href="/facts/International_Cultivar_Registration_Authority/9rvWM5LP">International Cultivar Registration Authority</a> for daffodils.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> Those marked agm are recipients of the RHS <a href="/facts/Award_of_Garden_Merit/zQ4Ya8S6">Award of Garden Merit</a>. </p> <ul><li>ssp. <i>pseudonarcissus</i> agm<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> <i>Narcissus pseudonarcissus</i> subsp. <i>pseudonarcissus</i> – Lent lily, wild daffodil – England and Wales</li> <li>ssp. <i>bicolor</i> (syn. <i>N. bicolor</i> L.)</li> <li>ssp. <i>calcicarpetanus</i> Fernández Casas</li> <li>ssp. <i>eugeniae</i> – Central Spain (syn. <i>N. eugeniae</i> Fernández Casas)</li> <li><a href="/facts/Narcissus_hispanicus/5J3Cxs7B">ssp. <i>major</i></a> – Spanish daffodil, great daffodil – Iberia (syn. <i>N. hispanicus</i> Gouan.)</li> <li>ssp. <i>moschatus</i> (L.) Baker agm<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> – swan's-neck daffodil (syn. ssp. <i>candidissimus</i> Desf.; syn. <i>N. moschatus</i> L., <i>N. alpestris</i> Pugsley.)</li> <li>ssp. <i>munozii-garmendiae</i> Fernández Casas</li> <li>ssp. <i>nevadensis</i> – Iberia (syn. <i>N. nevadensis</i> Pugsley)</li> <li>ssp. <i>nobilis</i> – (syn. <i>N. nobilis</i> (Haw.) Schult. & Schult.f.) large flower daffodil – Iberia. The largest floral diameter of <i>Narcissus</i>, at over 12.5 cm</li> <li>ssp. <i>obvallaris</i> agm<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> – Tenby daffodil – southern Wales (syn. <i>N. obvallaris</i>, Salisb., sometimes considered to be derived from <a href="/facts/Relict_(biology)/eH1gkAg3">relict</a> cultivation of ssp. <i>major</i> <a href="http://www.brc.ac.uk/plantatlas/index.php?q=plant/unmatched-species-name-723">[1]</a>)</li> <li>ssp. <i>pallidiflorus</i> – pale flower daffodil – Spain and France</li> <li>ssp. <i>portensis</i> – Iberia (syn. <i>N. portensis</i> Pugsley)</li> <li>ssp. <i>pugsleyanus</i> Barra & López – Spain</li> <li>ssp. <i>radinganorum</i> (syn. <i>N. radinganorum</i> Fernández Casas) – southeast Spain</li></ul> <h4>Varieties</h4> <p><i>Narcissus pseudonarcissus</i> ssp. <i>pseudonarcissus</i> itself has many <a href="/facts/Variety_(botany)/r3qRdjVt">varieties</a> (described by H.W. Pugsley in an article in the <i><a href="/facts/The_Garden_(journal)/xEwbgvmQ">Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society</a></i> of 1933), including var. <i>festinus</i>, var. <i>humilis</i>, var. <i>insignis</i>, var. <i>minoriformis</i>, var. <i>montinus</i>, var. <i>platylobus</i> and var. <i>porrigens</i>. The eighth variety described by Pugsley, var. <i>pisanus</i>, was further defined by A. Fernandes in the <i>Daffodil and Tulip Year Book</i> of 1968. </p> <h4>Double-flowered cultivars</h4> <p>Recent research in Wales, southwest England and northern France by keen horticulturists has discovered a small number of remarkably distinct, double-flowered specimens of <i>N. pseudonarcissus</i> growing among wild or naturalised populations of normal <i>N. pseudonarcissus</i>. Such rare forms were known to exist as long ago as the late 16th and early 17th century by botanists and <a href="/facts/Herbalism/aFHY8zCD">herbalists</a> such as <a href="/facts/John_Gerard/JJ0fyh3Y">John Gerard</a> and <a href="/facts/John_Parkinson_(botanist)/75d3dXB3">John Parkinson</a>, 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 <a href="/facts/Cultivar/nfaLJJM3">cultivars</a> may become commercially available in the future.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="emblem">Emblem</h2> <p>The daffodil is the national flower of <a href="/facts/Wales/xa3W6PHH">Wales</a>, it is called Cennin Pedr (<a href="/facts/Saint_Peter/50X8naSm">Peter's</a> Leek) in <a href="/facts/Welsh_language/4Pz8r6yk">Welsh</a>. The daffodil is also the <a href="/facts/County_flowers_of_the_United_Kingdom/Vwzdm64C">county flower</a> of <a href="/facts/Gloucestershire/oU1K8E4K">Gloucestershire</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="health-risks">Health risks</h2> <p>Like all <i>Narcissus</i> species, daffodils contain the <a href="/facts/Alkaloid/m6hUXohz">alkaloid</a> poison <a href="/facts/Lycorine/U2bDu0k0">lycorine</a>, mostly in the bulb, but also in the leaves.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a> Because of this, daffodil bulbs and leaves should never be eaten. </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/List_of_Award_of_Garden_Merit_narcissus/lBzXld6E">List of Award of Garden Merit narcissus</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_Narcissus_species/A7LHCAqh">List of <i>Narcissus</i> species</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_plants_known_as_lily/MRu3PP30">List of plants known as lily</a></li></ul> <h3>Further reading</h3> <p>Newton, Rosemary; Hay, Fiona; Ellis, Richard (February 2015). <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fboj.12240">"Ecophysiology of seed dormancy and the control of germination in early spring-flowering Galanthus nivalis and Narcissus pseudonarcissus (Amaryllidaceae)"</a>. <i><a href="/facts/Botanical_Journal_of_the_Linnean_Society/A18kPthX">Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society</a></i>. 177 (2): 246–262. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fboj.12240">10.1111/boj.12240</a>. </p> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <p> Media related to Narcissus pseudonarcissus at Wikimedia Commons </p> <ul><li><a href="http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Narcissus+pseudonarcissus"><i>Narcissus pseudonarcissus</i> - Plants For A Future database report</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.tropicos.org/ImageFullView.aspx?imageid=100007771">photo of herbarium specimen, at Missouri Botanical Garden, <i>Narcissus pseudonarcissus</i>, collected in Missouri</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Linnaeus, Carl. 1753. Species Plantarum 1: 289, Narcissus pseudonarcissus <a href="https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/358308#page/301/mode/1up" target="_blank">https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/358308#page/301/mode/1up</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Gray, Samuel Frederick. 1821. Natural Arrangement of British Plants, According to Their Relation to Each Other 2:191, as Ajax fenestralis <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Jordan, Claude Thomas Alexis. 1903. Jord. & Fourr. Icon. Fl. Eur. iii. 2. as Ajax festinus <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Pugsley, Herbert William. 1933. Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society 1933, 58:72, as Narcissus gayi <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Sell, Peter Derek. 1996. Flora of Great Britain and Ireland 5: 364, as Narcissus pseudonarcissus forma pleniflorus <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Haworth, Adrian Hardy. 1831. Monog. Narciss. 4, as Oileus hexangularis <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Simons, Paul (26 April 2013). "Plantwatch: Under attack – the wild British daffodil". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 Dec 2014. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/apr/26/plantwatch-wild-daffodil-garden-hybrid" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/apr/26/plantwatch-wild-daffodil-garden-hybrid</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>2011, 'Nature Reserve Guide', Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust published for its 50th anniversary <a href="/wiki/Gloucestershire_Wildlife_Trust" target="_blank">/wiki/Gloucestershire_Wildlife_Trust</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>'The Daffodil Trails', (undated), Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"Wild daffodil | The Wildlife Trusts". www.wildlifetrusts.org. Retrieved 2024-04-05. <a href="https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/wild-daffodil" target="_blank">https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/wild-daffodil</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"Cultivated Daffodil agg. | NatureSpot". www.naturespot.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-04-05. <a href="https://www.naturespot.org.uk/species/cultivated-daffodil-agg" target="_blank">https://www.naturespot.org.uk/species/cultivated-daffodil-agg</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>"Narcissus pseudonarcissus L. — The Plant List". www.theplantlist.org. <a href="http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-281926" target="_blank">http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-281926</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>"Botanical names in the genus Narcissus". rhs.org.uk. Royal Horticultural Society. December 2016. Retrieved 2017-07-02. <a href="https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/plant-registration-forms/daffalpha" target="_blank">https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/plant-registration-forms/daffalpha</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>"Narcissus pseudonarcissus subsp. pseudonarcissus". RHS. Retrieved 6 January 2021. <a href="https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/11394/Narcissus-pseudonarcissus-subsp-pseudonarcissus-(13)/Details" target="_blank">https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/11394/Narcissus-pseudonarcissus-subsp-pseudonarcissus-(13)/Details</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>"Narcissus moschatus". RHS. Retrieved 6 January 2021. <a href="https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/132825/Narcissus-moschatus-(13)/Details" target="_blank">https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/132825/Narcissus-moschatus-(13)/Details</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>"Narcissus obvallaris". RHS. Retrieved 6 January 2021. <a href="https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/98650/Narcissus-obvallaris-(13)/Details" target="_blank">https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/98650/Narcissus-obvallaris-(13)/Details</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>Street, Alan (2014). Double Lent lily | Daffodil, Snowdrop and Tulip Yearbook 2014. London: Royal Horticultural Society. pp. 12–15. ISBN 9781907057533. <a href="9781907057533" target="_blank">9781907057533</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>Plantlife website County Flowers page Archived 2015-04-30 at the Wayback Machine <a href="http://www.plantlife.org.uk/wild_plants/county_flowers/" target="_blank">http://www.plantlife.org.uk/wild_plants/county_flowers/</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>Food and nutrition Daffodil dinner Archived 2009-01-04 at the Wayback Machine David Trinklein, Department of Horticulture, University of Missouri, Accessed March 2008 <a href="http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/qa/foodnutrition0006.htm" target="_blank">http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/qa/foodnutrition0006.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:20"><p>"Pupils ill after bulb put in soup". BBC News. 2009-05-03. Retrieved 2010-03-27. <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/suffolk/8031344.stm" target="_blank">http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/suffolk/8031344.stm</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>