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| Mrs. BJ Bunny's Nest History and Stories of Spring Flowers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| "The Daffodil" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Common Names: Daffodil, narcissus, jonquil. Botanical Name: Narcissus. Family: Amaryllidaceae. |
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| The difference in meaning between the names of daffodils, narcissi, and jonquils is still unclear, but we seem to agree that all daffodils are narcissi, though not all narcissi are daffodils, and it has to do with length of trumpet and number of flowers per stem. The confusion over the name "daffodil" may have started early, when the British, who preferred the imported asphodel to their native daffodil, allegedly called the former "bastard 'affodil." "Jonquil" comes from the Spanish jonquillo (rush), referring to the rush-like leaves. Daffodils may have been brought to Britain by the Romans, who believed their mucilaginous sap could heal wounds, although in fact it contains sharp crystals that prevent animals from eating the plant and may in fact irritate the skin. But John Parkinson says, "Know I not any in these days, with us, that apply any of them as a remedy for any griefe, whatsoever Gerard or others have written." Parkinson was right, for the sap of daffodils contains crystals of calcium oxalate, an irritant, which is why, in a vase of mixed flowers, daffodils will soon make the other blossoms wilt. The asphodel also has sharp crystals in its sap which protect it from being eaten, although its roots, unlike the daffodil's, are said to be edible and were used in times of famine by the Greeks. |
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| All three were associated with the dead. In Greek myth, pale asphodels grew in the meadows of the Underworld, kingdom of the dead. Hades abducted Persephone after she had wandered away from her companions to pick the flowers. The stupefying quality of their sweet perfume was once thought to be as dangerous as any narcotic, and many people find the scent overpowering. The Victorians suspected narcissi of having harmful "effluvia." Narcissus, who was exquisitely beautiful, saw his own image in a pool, leaned over to possess it, and drowned, becoming the flower. The name "narcissus" is most often associated with the Greek youth Narcissus, with whom the nymph Echo fell in love. He spurned her, and she hid in a cavern where she died of a broken heart, leaving only her voice. Meanwhile Narcissus, who was exquisitely beautiful, saw his own image in a pool, leaned over to posses it, and drowned, becoming the flower. People do love themselves when they think they love another, but they don't change into flowers -- which was often a handy solution to a problem in Greek mythology. |
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| The daffodil, for many, is spring itself. Describing the daffodils she and her brother William saw on a walk, Dorothy Wordsworth said, "Some rested their heads on these stones as on a pillow." This is good to remember when looking at daffodils after a storm: they are simply resting their heads. Dorothy noted that the daffodils "tossed and reeled and danced, and seemed as if they verily laughed with the wind, they looked so gay and glancing." One can't help wondering if William read her diary before writing his famous poem and wandering lonely as a cloud. (see: William Wordworth poem Daffodils under Mrs. BJ Bunny's Poetry Index page #3.) The daffodil has filled the time of as many poets as botanists, and almost everywhere people have travele they have taken daffodils. Oscar Wilde said, "They are like Greek things of the best period," which is a way of saying that nothing really surpasses them and if possible they should be taken wherever we go -- even to the Underworld. |
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| A note from Mrs. BJ Bunny: I hope you enjoyed "The Daffodil" a continuing epic in History and Stories about Flowers. My main source of information is: 100 Flowers and How They Got Their Names by:Daina Wells. Please feel free to email me your comments and suggestions on this epic. Thank You - Mrs. BJ Bunny |
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