Narcissus pseudonarcissus (daffodil)

Narcissus pseudonarcissus in Gloucestershire (Image: Holly York)

The daffodil is native to western Europe, and is found in the area bounded by Portugal in the west, Germany in the east, and England and Wales to the north. It is not clear whether the species is truly native to Britain, or was introduced long ago and has become naturalised. It grows at altitudes from sea level to at least 1,500 m and is found growing wild in woods and grassland, and its many cultivars and hybrids are also widely cultivated in parks and gardens in most temperate regions.

Narcissus pseudonarcissus, near the Temple of Aeolus, Kew (Image: Jenny Heath, RBG Kew)

Narcissus pseudonarcissus is a bulbous perennial with upright, strap-like, grey-green leaves. The leaves arise from the base of the stem and are up to 35 cm long and 12 mm wide, with rounded tips. A single flower is produced at the tip of the flattened flower-stalk. The flower consists of a dark yellow 'trumpet' (corona) surrounded by a ring of 3 sepals and 3 petals (perianth), which are a lighter yellow. The flowers are up to 60 mm long and the 'trumpet' and ring of petals are roughly the same length. Flowers are usually produced from March to April. The daffodil is clump-forming, but reproduction is primarily via seed production.

Narcissus pseudonarcissus in Gloucestershire (Image: Holly York)

Narcissus pseudonarcissus is locally abundant in much of its native area and is not considered to be threatened, although four other species of Narcissus (N. bujei, N. alcaracensis, N. longispathus and N. radinganorum), all of which are native to Spain, are rated as Endangered by the IUCN.

Daffodils suffered a rapid decline in England and Wales in the mid 19th century, and are now considered rare in some areas, although they are often still abundant in areas where they remain. Daffodil populations are not harmed when flowers are picked, and they are able to grow in a wide variety of habitats, but population decline may have occurred in some areas as a result of the over-collection of bulbs or changes in land use and management.

Narcissus pseudonarcissus (Image: RBG Kew)

Narcissus pseudonarcissus has been used to develop a large number of hybrids and cultivars. There are over 30,000 names in the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Daffodil Registration Database, around 26,000 of which are considered to be unique cultivar names.

Modern daffodil cultivars are important ornamental crops; more daffodils are planted than any other perennial ornamental plant. Britain is the major grower of daffodils for both flowers and bulbs, which are also grown commercially in the Netherlands, United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

Wild daffodils were picked in great numbers in Britain in the past, and in the 1930s there was even a 'Daffodil Special' train service run by the Great Western Railway to take Londoners to the Gloucestershire-Herefordshire border to admire and buy the flowers.

The national flower of Wales, traditionally worn on St David’s Day (1 March), is a daffodil, although it is thought by some to be the Tenby daffodil (N. pseudonarcissus subspecies major, also known by the synonym N. obvallaris), which is native to South Wales, rather than N. pseudonarcissus subspecies pseudonarcissus. The Tenby daffodil has small, uniformly yellow flowers and short stiff stems.

Kew's Millennium Seed Bank partnership aims to save plant life world wide, focusing on plants under threat and those of most use in the future. Seeds are dried, packaged and stored at a sub-zero temperature in our seed bank vault.

Description of seeds: Average 1,000 seed weight = 5.32 g.
Number of seed collections stored in the Millennium Seed Bank: Four.

The plants at Kew Gardens and Wakehurst Place provide valuable information about our climate and so provide an early warning of the effects of climate change. For example, staff at Kew study the changes in plant life cycles over time (called phenology). Each year, scientists monitor and record the flowering dates of a hundred native and exotic plants at Kew Gardens.

Recent signs of change include a shift in the average flowering date of daffodils (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) and hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna). In the 1980s daffodils commonly flowered around the 12 February, but by 2008 this date had shifted to the 27 January, 16 days earlier.

Narcissus pseudonarcissus in Gloucestershire (Image: Holly York)

Phenology at Kew

Daffodil Walk at Kew

Hortus Nitidissimus - Narcissus 

Kew Science Teams - Monocots I: General Alismatids & Lilioids

World Checklist of Monocotyledons - Narcissus pseudonarcissus 

External links:

The Daffodil Society

The American Daffodil Society

RHS Daffodil Registration

Search Kew's databases for more information on this species