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SPECIES DAFFODILS

© Mary Lou Gripshover

What are species daffodils anyway? The dictionary says that a species is the fundamental category of taxonomic classification. Gardeners know species as plants that originated in the wild--in nature--and which are the building blocks for all the wonderful hybrids we grow.

All daffodils belong to the genus Narcissus. The terms daffodil and narcissus are interchangeable, daffodil being the common English name, and Narcissus the Latin, botanical name. The American Daffodil Society prefers that Narcissus be used for both singular and plural forms. Depending on which botanist you follow, there are 40 to 80 species of narcissus, as well as numerous subspecies, varieties, and wild hybrids. (There are also over 15,000 named man-made hybrids registered with the RHS, but they are beyond the scope of this article.) Most of them are native to Europe, primarily Spain and Portugal; and a few are natives of North Africa. The United States has no native narcissus. In some parts of the country, especially in the South, you might find daffodils which have become naturalized around former homesites. Most of these daffodils would probably fall into that group now called Historic or Heirloom Daffodils. But that's another story.

Most daffodils bloom in the spring, although there are several which bloom in the fall. Included in the fall-blooming group is the only green daffodil, N. viridiflorus. Yes, green. The plant has reed-like foliage with blooms of the same color, usually with several blooms per stem. Blooming size bulbs often have no leaves at all, sending up only a bloomstalk to nourish the plant for the following year. It has a musky fragrance. The miniature bloom is inconspicuous, and probably of interest only to daffodil collectors. I grow it in the coldframe, and dry it off over the summer. Still, bloom is erratic. It's found mainly in Morocco, with a few also found in Spain. You can see a photo of it in the International Bulb Society's Bulb Gallery (see links.)

Daffodils come in all sizes, from the three- to four-inch tall miniature trumpet blooms of N. asturiensis to N. longispathus which usually has two blooms to the stem, and can reach three feet in height.

The Paper White bulbs sold for forcing are descendants of, and very similar to, N. papyraceus. Does that give you a clue where the name "Paper White" came from? This species is usually all white, has fragrant blooms, and from twelve to twenty blooms per stem. N. tazetta is similar, but comes in yellow as well as white and yellow. These are plants of the Mediterranean area, from Spain and Portugal extending to Greece, as well as Algeria and Morocco. Friends tell me they bloom in California and Florida as early as December.