Reverse Bi-Color Daffodils
A collection of reverse bi-color daffodils that won the American Daffodil Society Maroon Ribbon Award at the 1999, Washington Daffodil Show, exhibited by Clay Higgins.
What is a Reverse Bi-Color Daffodil
Bi-color daffodils are so named for their white petals and yellow cups. The term reverse bi-color was given to those daffodils that have the colors reversed, thus, they have yellow petals, and white cups. Why the bi-color name got stuck on white and yellow daffodils, regardless of the fact that there are many other daffodils with two or more colors, such as orange and red, or white and red, etc., I do not know.
However, reverse bi-color daffodils just happen to be one of my favorites. I feel they deserve much acclaim, as both a garden and show flower. Reverse bi-colors are a creation of mankind though research and breeding or hybridizing, along with a little luck, and do not occur in the wild except from N. triandrus var. pulchellus. It is my understanding that all reverse bi-colors started with an introduction by W.W. Wolfhagen, of Tasmania, with 'Binkie' 2Y-W, that produced 'Daydream', with 'Daydream' being an ancestor to almost all modern reverse bi-color daffodils. 'Daydream' is still a garden and show flower to this day.
Defining the Reverse Bi-Color
The term reverse bi-color, as defined by the American Daffodil Society, is that the cup of the flower has to be lighter, meaning whiter, than the perinth segments or petals. Based on this term of lighter, and using the Throckmorton system of classification that divides the petal and cup into three parts each, the definition needs more explanation. The three parts are divided such that a daffodil with a classification like 'Daydream' 2YYW-WWY, means that it is a division 2 large cupped daffodil, with petals that have the first two parts yellow with a white halo at the base of the petals. Secondly, the cup has two parts white with a thick yellow ring around the rim.
The daffodil classification system provides for classifications such as for 'Hillstar' 7YYW-YWW, 'Impressario' 2Y-WWY, 'Intrigue' 7Y-W, 'Goff's Caye' 2YYW-W, and 'Daydream' 2YYW-WWY all to be reverse bi-colors as the cups are lighter than the petals. However, similar color codes such as 'Fresh Lime' 1YYW-Y, is not a reverse bi-color as the petals with the white halo at the base is lighter than the cup. 'Hambledon' 2YYW-WYY is also not a reverse bi-color as the halo on the base of the petals is only matched with the halo on the base of the cup, meaning the cup is not lighter than the petals.
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